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When
a loved one who was a member of the United States military forces dies,
the family will sometimes wish to arrange a burial with military honors.
There are one hundred national cemeteries in the United States. However,
not every state has a national cemetery. The main and most well-known
military cemetery is Arlington National Cemetery which is located in Washington,
D.C. and administered by the Army.
The following are eligible
for Military Funeral Honors:
* Members of the military
who were on active duty or a member of the Selected Reserve at the time
of death.
* Former members of the
United States Military who were on active duty and left the Service under
any conditions other than a dishonorable discharge.
* Former members of the
US Military who completed at least one term of active duty or period of
Selected Reserve duty obligation and left under conditions other than dishonorable.
* Former members of the
Selected Reserve who were discharged due to disability incurred in the
line of duty or a disability which was aggravated in the line of duty.
As of September 11, 2001, the
VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) will provide a headstone or grave marker
at no charge for the grave of any deceased veteran considered eligible
- regardless of anywhere in the world the cemetery is located. The
officials at veterans’ cemeteries will order such inscriptions as requested
by the next of kin of the deceased.
Current law requires that
any eligible veteran may be buried with Military Funeral Honors when requested
by the family. An honor guard will be provided with a minimum of
two members of the Armed Forces. One member of the honor guard will
be from the branch of the military in which the deceased veteran served.
A United States flag will
be provided at no cost by the VA to the family of the deceased. The
flag is used to drape the coffin of a veteran who is eligible for Military
Funeral Honors. The basic aspects of the ceremony include folding
of the flag, presentation of the flag to the next of kin, usually by a
military chaplain. The funeral ceremony is customarily ended by the
playing of Taps either by a bugler or by electronic recording - since
nowadays, buglers are rarely available.
The custom of playing Taps
began in the United States in 1862 during the Civil War. It was written
by Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield to replace the earlier “Tattoo”
(lights out) which the General thought was inappropriate for a military
funeral.
Draping the casket with the
national flag is a custom which began during the Napoleonic Wars (1796-1815).
At that time, dead soldiers were covered with a flag and removed from the
field of battle on a caisson (two wheeled vehicle used to hold artillery
ammunition attached to a horse-drawn wagon). A United States flag
is not placed in the grave and is not allowed to touch the ground at any
time.
