Funeral Detail (Times Two)

Published on March 2, 2006 By chiprj In Blogging

Well, between preparing for one of my classes to graduate, laziness, and the release of Galciv2, I've fallen behind in updates. I've actually done three funerals since my last update, but my most recent will get it's own post, just like I usually do.

The other two funerals I did were two man funerals in mid-February. The first was in Monterey at a chapel just outside of downtown. The funeral was for a Navy veteran so I took a Sailor from our pool of volunteers with me. We were told the ceremony would start at 1100. We arrived at 1030 and I confirmed the location and time with one of the people at the front office in the cemetery. The chapel there is unique, in that the back wall is all glass panels and the side walls, on both the interior and exterior, are actually vaults. I told the bugler that he would stand outside the back wall, where he could be seen through the glass panel.

At 1100, there was still no one there. A few minutes later, someone showed up in a van with flowers and confirmed that the start time was supposed to be 1100 but that everyone was running late. Shortly after that, people started showing up. I was introduced to the family and then informed that the flag would not be pre-folded (as I had been told previously). Fortunately, we always practice the two man fold just in case this happens.

It was a short ceremony. After Taps was complete, the Sailor came up and we folded the flag. It was his first time doing a two man fold at a ceremony and he did fairly well with the folding. After I presented the flag, I went back outside the chapel and waited with the bugler while the assembly of people filed out and headed to the graveside. We had been told that we wouldn't be needed graveside, so we were just waiting until everyone passed by before we left. A number of people stopped to thank us and to remark on how well the bugle had been played.

The second funeral was about a week later. It was another two man funeral on the Friday of the President's Day weekend. We actually had three services that day. The overall NCOIC planned on doing two that were close in time and location and I volunteered to do the other. Our problem was that one of our bugle devices had been turned in for repairs recently, so we only had one functioning device left. This meant the dreaded boombox Taps. I've said it before, even if people discover the bugles to be fake, I think they are a much better solution than a boombox. But this time we didn't have a choice. Since the NCOIC was doing two funerals and I was just doing one, I got the boombox (and the 15 passenger van - not fun to drive through old town Pacific Grove).

The ceremony was at a cemetery right next to the beach in Pacific Grove. We were told that it would be a very small service and that there was a second funeral happening at the same time, so there wouldn't be a member from the mortuary present during the actual service. One of the Marines volunteered to come with me that day and when we arrived, we were shown the grave. It was a cremation and the urn and stone were already in place in the ground. A memeber of the cemetery staff told me that when the family arrived and they were ready to start, he would remove the stone and show them the urn. He'd then replace the stone and that would be my cue to start the military honors. He brought out a stool and draped it with a blanket so I'd have something to set the flag on while Taps played.

When the family arrived, I was introduced to the son. We waited for a few minutes for one more car to arrive and then headed over to the grave. I had placed the Marine off to the side where he could be seen and did my best to position him so that they couldn't directly see the boombox from where the grave was. It was about all I could do under the circumstances. Just as the man from the cemetery had told me, he started out by showing them the urn in the ground and then signalled me. I positioned myself so that I was centered on both the flag and plot and rendered a salute. The Marine hit play on the boombox and also rendered a salute. After Taps was complete, I presented the flag and moved off to stand with the Marine. The family then closed in together and they all spoke quietly together for a few minutes. During this time, I gave the flag case to the man from the cemetery and asked him to give it to the family when they were ready to leave. I then had the Marine grab the boombox (again, I tried to shield it somewhat from view) and we headed back to our van.

It's not like they didn't know there wasn't a bugle there, but I figured that we could at least not flaunt the damn thing in front of the family. Before the military started using these fake bugles (they are actually real bugles, just with the devices shoved into the cones - if you knew how to play one, you could remove the device and actually play them), the boomboxes were quite common as there are not that many true buglers out there. I just can't bring myself to actually like the thought of someone toting one in for a funeral, especially when that someone is me.

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