Funeral Detail - 12 September 2006

The funeral on Tuesday was a full honors service. I first found out about it on Saturday when I was at the second service that day. The gentleman from the funeral home asked me if I had heard any word on the Tuesday service and I told him I hadn't. He told me that he had emailed and faxed the information to the civilian on base in charge of casualty affairs but hadn't heard back. He was concerned that we wouldn't be there and the family was asking him every day for confirmation that we would. I assured him that if the information was sent on time, we'd have someone there. And we did.

We arrived at the cemetery about an hour early. I've said it before, but I like to get where I'm going early. That way if there are any surprises or complications, I have time to react. This service was taking place at one of the many vault buildings in the cemetery. The eventual resting place would be the fourth tier up on the building and the lift platform was already in place below the hole in the wall.

We had to plan some quick changes to our normal operating procedures. First, the casket would be almost right up against the wall, feet first, so there would be no room to march out or back in through the feet end of the casket. The platform was stabilized with blocks and brakes, so we couldn't turn it sideways for the service and return it to it's ready position after, so the team would just have to march out and back in through the head end of the casket. Additionally, the lifting platform was significantly higher than the normal grave platform. Some of the pall bearers/flag folders wouldn't be able to see over the top of the casket, let alone fold a flag without it touching the casket. So, we practiced side stepping around the platform so they would be able to fold the flag away from the casket. Lastly, because of the height of the platform, they were worried that they'd have trouble getting it up on top of it. The top of the platform had rollers, so I told them that I'd help from the head end and push in as necessary once it was on the rollers.

The church service ran long and the traffic between the church and the cemetery was bad. I was beginning to wonder if we'd gotten the wrong time when a woman from the funeral home arrived to drop off the beebees. I had seen beebees used at a funeral before, but had completely forgotten about them. When a casket is pushed into a vault like the one that day, the beebees are spread out on the floor of the vault so the casket can roll in, instead of scraping the bottom.

There were a lot of people at the service. The family alone filled two limousine, including a 22 person limo (probably the biggest limo I've ever seen). I was introduced to a number of the family members, including the widow. We waited for a few minutes to make sure everyone arrived.

I did help the team carry the casket from the carriage. The road was a little uphill from the vault and the grass had been watered that morning, so the path wasn't the easiest. We managed to get the casket up on the platform with little difficulty, though.

The service was fairly short and then the priest moved aside to allow us to perform the military honors. The team had another funeral on Monday and had practiced before that one several times (after not being quite in sync on the Saturday funeral), so they sounded great this time. They then marched up to fold the flag and were able to maneuver around the platform legs and get the flag off the casket easily. They folded the flag very well and we managed to keep all the brass inside this time (again, something not quite right from Saturday's service fixed).

After I presented the flag to the widow, she took hold of my hands and thanked me and the team for being there. I told her that it was an honor to be there and thanked her for the opportunity to be there.

At the end of the service, we headed back to the van. It was already past lunch time, so I told the team that I'd stop on the way back so they could get something to eat. But, since I'm an old, crotchety SSG, I told them we'd only be stopping at one place and it better have a big parking lot (I hate maneuvering that big ass van in small spaces). So, Wendy's it was!

When we got back to base, the other funeral detail NCO's were training a brand new group of Soldiers from B Co. We'd complained enough through the base CSM and finally got some support from the units and it looks like we'll be able to field a second team of firers. Once this team of Soldiers is trained up, we'll be able to give the present team a little bit of a break and maybe an occasional Saturday off.

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Just how olds are you? I get the impression that your old, and my old are about 10 years apart.

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Compared to students born in the late 80's, I'm old. And crotchety.

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Compared to students born in the late 80's, I'm old. And crotchety.

3 of my kids were born then!

Understood!

And thanks for the articles. I read them all, and each one is great. I just am at a loss for words at what you and your detail do. But I offer my thanks for those that cannot, that you are there to do it.

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