Funeral Detail - 12 March 2005 (Second Funeral)

Published on March 14, 2005 By chiprj In Blogging

After leaving the first funeral, we drove up to Castroville and stopped for lunch at a shopping center about one mile from the church. I told the team to get their food to go so we could and they could eat in the van while we waited for the second ceremony. We had plenty of time but I wanted to get there early so I could prepare. We were initially told that there would be a service inside the church and when it came time to perform miltary honors, the firing would take place outside the church and then the team would march in to fold the flag. I wanted to get see the layout of the church so I could find the best place for myself and the officer to stand during the ceremony. I also wanted to find the best way for the team to march in after firing.

When we got there, there were a bunch of cars already parked at the church. I had a moment of terror where I wondered if the ceremony had started early and we had never received word. I parked the van and told the team to sit tight and I'd find out what the situation was. When I got to the front of the building, I peaked in through the crack between the doors and saw that there was a wedding ceremony taking place. I breathed a sigh of relief. We were just very early. I went back to the van and ate my lunch.

By 1345 most of the people for the wedding had left. I went back around to the front of the building and met with the funeral director. Members of the family and friends had already started to arrive. The carriage was already there and they were planning on removing the casket soon. The director told me that some friends of the family had arranged for a fly-by at 1400, but becuase the weather was bad (very overcast) they weren't sure if it would happen. In fact, I'm still not sure if the fly-by was going to be civilian planes or if a miltary flight had been scheduled. They wanted to remove the casket just in case the fly-by did happen. The deceased was a retired Navy pilot and had flown for years after retiring. The license plate on his car read "DYN2FLY".

I was introduced to the widow and her two sons. I also met a few friends of the family. The Navy officer, a Lt (SG) (O-3 for those not familiar with Navy ranks), had not arrived yet, but I explained that an officer would be there to present the flag. The family and friends removed the casket and at 1400 a single civilian plane flew over. No one seemed sure if this was the fly-by or not, but it was something. From talking to the widow, her sons, and some of the other people in attendance, I got a feeling for their grief (this is something that always happens for me), but I also got a very strong feeling that they were not there so much to grieve for their loss, but to celebrate the life of this man. People were smiling and hugging and generally sharing happy memories before the service.

Something else, very emotional and moving, happened at this time. It's important to me to describe it fully, so it will have to wait for a separate entry.

The Lt arrived at about 1410 and I made sure he was introduced to the widow and family. I also explained to him that all the initial plans had changed. The director told me that instead of having the team come into the church, they would bring the casket out after the ceremony and we'd do all the military honors in the courtyard in front of the church. I also ran through with him all the requirements - when to salute, where we would stand, how I'd hand the flag to him.

At 1430, they wheeled the casket into the church and started the service. We were told that it would be a full Catholic service and would probably last at least an hour. I went back to the van and got the team ready. When they took the casket into the church, they left the flag in the entrance area. It was the same brand flag we'd messed up folding earlier that day, so I had them run through folding it once to make sure it would come out right the first time. We'd also had some problems with not all the rifles firing all three volleys. There really isn't much you can do if the rifle fails to fire. But, I had them take extra care in loading their magazines into the rifles. I also gave them a short talk about how visible they would be on this one. It was for a retired Navy officer and I recognized from listening to conversations that many of the people in attendance were either reitrees or still on duty in some form. I told them that I trusted them to do their best, but reminded them to keep their heads focused on what they were doing.

Then we waited.

The service ended a little before 1600. The priest led everyone out. Once the congregation was completely out of the church, the priest led one final prayer and sprinkled holy water over the casket and flag. He then gave me a nod and moved off to the side. The Lt and I moved to our position and saluted. The silence was, again, cut by the crisp movements of the rifle team. The volleys were perfect. Just as it had happened in the earlier funeral, this part of the ceremony cracked the composure of many of the people in the crowd. After Taps sounded, the team moved to the casket and folded the flag. I passed it to the Lt and he presented the flag to the widow. We moved to the side and they loaded the casket into the carriage.

After the ceremony, the Lt told me that he had nearly lost it when trying to present the flag. I could still see on his face that he was trying to recover a little. I told him I understood exactly how he felt. Each funeral is unique and difficult.

We were approached by a number of people and warmly thanked for our participation. The bugler was cornered and asked how long it took for her to learn to play Taps so perfectly. She looked to me and I answered the man by saying that we trained every part of the ceremony as much as necessary to make it come out just right. I just didn't feel any need to break the illusion.

We policed up all our spent casings and loaded up into the van. It had been a long day, so I told the team that I'd drop them off and then return the weapons myself. They had done an excellent job and didn't need to spend any more time doing something I could do without them.

My Ecosystem Details

Comments

No one has commented on this article. Be the first!

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!