Funeral Detail - 29 April 2005

Published on May 3, 2005 By chiprj In Blogging

I've been very busy the past two weeks. I was actually up in the rotation to do a funeral the week prior, but had a number of things that took me out of the loop. So, I had a couple weeks without any funerals. I finished our last week on funeral detail by doing the last two. One on Friday and another on Saturday.

I got the word on Wednesday that I'd have a funeral on Friday. It was just a two man detail in Monterey. On Thursday I went to practice and got the rest of the details. It was for an Army officer veteran. The NCOIC had already gotten in contact with an officer to present the flag, so that was taken care of. Since the flag would be prefolded, I told the NCOIC I wouldn't need any other help on this one. I'd handle the bugle and the officer would present the flag.

On Friday, I got in touch with the Captain that would come with me. It was the same Captain that presented the flag a couple weeks back at the two man funeral that should have been a full honors. We finalized what time we'd meet at the cemetery.

At 1015 (15 minutes earlier than I told the Captain I'd be there) I got to the cemetery and found the grave. I talked with the gentlemen from the funeral homw. They were both military retirees and in their 80's. They told me war stories. It's what Soldiers do. It's a real treat to hear them tell them. They may have slowed down a bit (and who doesn't in their 80's?), but there is life and fire in the voice and eyes of a man (probably a woman, too - I just haven't met any old female Soldiers yet) telling you stories about being a Soldier. They talked about the Phillipines and Korea. One man told me about going from PFC to MSG in less than six months in 1951 in Korea. I spent 15 minutes listening to them as we waited.

The Captain showed up at 1030 and we spent a few minutes reviewing his responisibilities. He had been to numerous funerals, so it was quick. We then spent some time talking with one of the men from the funeral home. People started to arrive at 1130 but the time passed quickly. At 1145 I moved to my spot and stood by with the bugle. I had to move once because from my original position I couldn't see the Captain. There were a lot of people at this service.

The service started around 1200. It wasn't very long. When I saw the Captain salute, I hit play. After Taps, he presented the flag and met me on the road behind the grave site. We marched out to the parking lot and we talked for a couple minutes while I collected his gloves and packed the bugle away.

It was 1220 on a gorgeous Monterey day. Just as I was getting into my car, the Captain told me to go home and hug my family. I really didn't want to go back to work and since I was half way home, I decided to surprise my wife and do just that.

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