Last week a man whose household I do yark work for, died. He had lost both legs in combat in the Netherlands during World War II; more recently his health was failing. I found out his funeral will be tomorrow. I know nothing about veterans’ funerals; can any Dopers who are veterans–or have had relatives or friends who were veterans and have died–give me any description of how a veteran’s funeral is conducted? Who is allowed to attend, what is in the eulogy, any religious content, and so on?
Thanks very much.
I’ve conducted a few funerals in my time, some for veterans, and the only difference I ever saw was that the casket was draped with an American flag and that the flag was presented to the widow (or other survivor) at the graveside after a short speech recognizing their service and dedication.
I’ve never been to a funeral that was conducted by a veteran’s organization, but I don’t imagine that it would be too much different. I expect there would be more emphasis on the person’s military career (and more understanding of what it meant). As to religious content, my guess is that would be determined by the family’s (or the deceased) wishes. Dress would be typical, too, I suspect (dark, moderately “dressy” clothes), although if you have a uniform and it still fits I think that would be a nice gesture.
What pluto said.
Also, at some vet funerals they have a gun salute and play taps. They did that at my great uncle’s funeral, as well as a several other vet funerals I’ve been to. Quite a lot of it does depend on the family’s wishes, as well as those of the deceased, providing they had preferences.
It’s really just a normal funeral with some extra stuff. There’s no different rules of protocol.
I don’t believe that there are any special rules applicable to the funerals of veterans regarding religious content, eulogy, who can attend, etc. - it’s all determined by the family of the deceased. The only difference that I noticed (aside from those already mentioned - honor guard, salute, taps, and flag) was that a military officer gave the eulogy.
On a side note, I recall reading somewhere recently that as the military downsizes and all the vets from WWII begin to die, it's becoming more and more difficult to get a bugler to all the funerals. Apparently, if there's a conflict, it comes down to rank, and the family of the outranked vet might have to make do with a recording of taps. Which seems incredibly sad to me.
-ellis
Grandfather was a Brigadier General when he died back in '99. Got a 21-gun salute and a spot in Arlington, among other things.
I’ll try to remember to ask my mother about the proceedings.
My father was buried at sea in 1999. The family couldn’t go, but the Navy did give us a video tape. There was Taps, a 21-gun salute (three volleys of seven guns), and a short sermon by the Chaplain. Everything was done in a military fashion with salutes, parade-field coriography, and presentation of the flag to an officer. The plank containing the container of dad’s ashes was tilted by the
numbers.
Dad died the day before Veterans Day 1998, but we had to wait a couple of months for the burial, as the Navy doesn’t make special trips. He was taken out as the fleet departed on regular exercises. The Navy also gave us a chart with the position of the burial noted on it.
As you can tell from the previous posts, there are a wide range of “veteran’s funerals” depending on the family’s wishes, the deceased’s status (on active duty, retired, or just a veteran), and rank. iampunha described a service near the top end for a general who must have been on active duty or retired when he passed away. I can describe the low end. My father was drafted in WWII and was discharged at the end of the war as a sergeant. He had no affection for the army and little interest in anything military. He did however, have even less affection for the funeral industry and he did have an interest in making use of his limited veteran’s benefits. So when he died, we requested interment at a beautiful military cemetery not far from where he lived most of his adult life. He didn’t qualify for one of the extremely few grave sites, but he did get a hole in a wall for his ashes. A Navy chaplain presided, an honor guard fired rifles, and we got a flag. It was very nice and didn’t cost anything. He would have been pleased.
The man who will be buried tomorrow will, as a veteran disabled in the line of duty, be eligible for more than a padre, a flag, an honor gaurd, and a place for an urn, but those are just entitlements; the details of the ceremony will be up to the family.
Wow.
My Dad, a Sargeant in WWII died in 1972. As a kid I asked for a military funeral and the air base sent a bugler.
I have served on an Honor Guard team and I hope that the family has requested an honor guard from a nearby military base, National Guard, or Reserves.
Sometimes a team will not be available, if death is expected, it is a good idea to give advanced notification to the military. All veterans have a right to this service and a priority is not given to rank, it is given on a ‘first-come/first served’. (Although, shamefully, I have seen some politics come into play here) Some folks opt to wait until an honor guard becomes available before burial. What they do with the deceased until then is beyond me.
This is what will happen. After services, the procession will head to the cemetery. An honor guard of military folks in dress uniforms will carry the casket to the grave. The will then hold the flag over the casket as six members of the team fire a 21-gun salute. A bugler will then play taps. The flag will then be folded by the team at the casket and handed to the NCO in charge. He, in turn, will hand the folded flag to the Officer in charge. That Officer will give the flag to the widow, or surviving member of the family. He will thank them on behalf of the president and the United States for the deceased’s services to his/her country. This type of funeral is the most touching you will ever see. No one is ever left unaffected.
I’ve been to one funeral of a Canadian veteran (WWII merchant marine). Members of the Canadian Legion came, in their blue blazers, grey slacks and blue berets, each with their service medals, and wearing a Remembrance Day Poppy. Most of them were well into their 60s and 70s.
At the graveside, after the priest had finished the religious part of the ceremony, the ranking Legion member read the poem “They shall not grow old as we that are left behind grow old…” Then they played the Last Post (tape recording, but it sounded alright.) Then, each of the vets went up to the coffin, took their poppys off, and one by one pinned their poppys to the floral arrangement that they had provided.
It was sad, but I think I liked it better than a pomp-and-ceremony funeral. It wasn’t the government doing it, or some young soldiers who didn’t know him - it was his mates who had been to war with him, saying good-bye and sending him off.