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Memorial Day is a federal holiday to remember those that have
died while serving. For most people this means a day off work and a
good reason to fire up the grill and spend time with friends and
family.
For the Texas National Guard’s Military Funeral
Honors Team, Memorial Day comes every day ... only barbecue is not
included.
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February 9, 2017 - Service members on the Texas Military
Department's Military Funeral honors team prepare to issue a three
volley salute during the funeral of a U.S. veteran. (Photo courtesy
of Texas Military Funeral Honors)
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“We are there at the moment when the family suffers the loss of
their loved one who has passed away,” said Jim Levine Jr., Military
Funeral Honors State Coordinator. “We are the last living
representation of the military. It’s us honoring their service every
day.”
This long-standing military custom dates back to World
War I, and until recently, services were only provided when manpower
was available. In 2001, the National Defense Authorization Act
passed a law that mandated the United States Armed Forces provide
the rendering of honors in a military funeral for any eligible
veteran.
“All family members want military funeral honors,
they want to see that flag being folded and the sound of the
trumpet, that is closure for the family,” said Ricky Williams,
memorial affairs coordinator, at Joint Base San Antonio - Fort Sam
Houston in San Antonio, Texas.
The family member or
next-of-kin of the veteran must request honors through their funeral
director. The funeral director then contacts the appropriate
military service to arrange for the funeral honors detail.
Most Texas veteran memorial requests are processed through the
casualty assistance office of Fort Sam.
“We cover everyone
from Buda to Mexico and Beaumont to El Paso, active duty, reserves
and National Guard,” said Williams. “We average 2,250 services a
year.”
Williams assigns the services to Military Funeral
Honor teams based on their component, area of responsibility and
availability. In instances where active duty teams are over tasked,
Texas guardsmen can honor any veteran in Texas.
“We depend on
the Texas National Guard to help us make the family happy by coming
out and performing funeral honors because we don’t have the manpower
without them,” said Williams.
Recently, the team conducted a
joint memorial service to honor a veteran from the Tuskegee Air
Force.
“We did a joint service for a Tuskegee Airmen from
WWII with the Air Force,” said Levine. “Since he was a pilot in the
Tuskegee Air Force, we were able to do that with him. The Air Force
did the flag folding we did the firing party, it was a great deal.”
The Texas Honor Guard has approximately 14 full-time
Soldiers and 25 traditional Guardsmen. Regardless of the veteran’s
military branch, Texas Guardsmen treat every service with honor and
respect.
“It’s an honor for me to do this,” said Texas Army
National Guard Sgt. Jonathan Strother, assistant team leader for
Military Funeral Honors. “Whether they served in Vietnam, WWII or
whatever era that they served, we want to leave a lasting impression
of our sincerity and appreciation for their veterans services.”
Strother joined the team in 2011 as a bugler and worked his way
up to an assistant team lead. He is the first Texas Guardsmen to
perform nearly 1,900 services.
His leadership role allows
him to instill his knowledge and expertise to incoming Soldiers.
“What I tell the young Soldiers coming in is be professional,
this is not an easy job, we are on call seven days a week and we
don’t usually get weekends off,” said Strother. “It is a very
stressful job dealing with death and the families, but it is a very
rewarding in the same sense.”
Through the military funeral
honors program, Texas Guardsmen are able to share their passion of
providing the family one last military honor.
“The family
sometimes doesn’t see the honor behind their veterans’ service, they
just know that he/she sacrifices; they are gone a lot and they
deploy a lot,” said Levine. “But when they see our guys at the
funeral, doing the flag folding, presenting the flag, playing the
taps, we are honoring their service so therefore, for the family we
are honoring their sacrifice.”
As you celebrate your
Memorial Day this year, please take a moment to remember those who
have given their lives for our freedom, and their families still
here.
By U.S. Army Sgt. Elizabeth Pena, Texas Military Department
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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