Dignified Ways To Memorialize Your Beloved Veteran

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If you want to honor the memory of a veteran, make funeral arrangements with their service to the country in mind. Discuss with your funeral director different options to pay tribute to their service, and to plan a service that would make any veteran proud.

Some ways to memorialize a veteran close to you include:

A horse-drawn procession. Give your veteran the attention he or she deserves with a horse-drawn caisson. A caisson is a procession led by a horse-drawn cart, originally designed to carry ammunition during battle. These are used to carry the body of the deceased, usually from the funeral home or church to the gravesite.

Play 'Taps.' There are few things as moving as the sound of Taps being played at a funeral. Your funeral director will contact the nearest field office to arrange the burial or funeral with military honors, as long as the deceased was honorably discharged from any branch of the military.

The honor guard. Your funeral director will be able to reach out to the military field office to line up a six-man honor guard to carry the casket. This esteemed team will also fold a flag 12 times in a distinct and traditional way to be presented to the veteran's surviving family members.

A burial at sea. A burial at sea may be the most-fitting for your veteran. The law requires that burials take place at least three- miles out, and that you drill holes in casket to facilitate sinking to the bottom of the water. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires registration following the burial. Remains that undergo cremation through a place like Romero Family Funeral Home Corp. do not require these additional guidelines, though it is prohibited to drop the urn in the ocean.

A 21-gun salute. A 21-gun salute at a military funeral is a fitting tribute to a veteran, but what exactly is it? This procession is actually a six-man honor guard team firing three shots from rifles. This dates back to ceasing fire during war for soldiers to remove their deceased from the battlefield.

A commemorative donation. Make a commemorative donation to a veterans' organization or charity in the name of the deceased. This will allow for future good works and support for fellow veterans.

A graveside flag. Arrange for a graveside flag that indicates the deceased served their country. These are often provided by military organizations widely, so check with local VFW and service groups to have one donated for the gravesite of your deceased veteran.

Discuss these options with your funeral director when planning the final arrangements for your veteran. Pay homage to their military service with a funeral and burial that honors and respects the deceased's service to their country.


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