AUSTIN, Texas -- Memorial Day is a federal holiday to remember those that have died while serving. For many people, this means a day off work and a good reason to fire up the grill and spend time with friends and family.
For members of the Texas National Guard’s Military Funeral Honors team, Memorial Day comes every day -- only barbecue is not included.
“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.”
Military Custom
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 mandated that the U.S. 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,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 at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.
The honors team conducts funeral services for active duty, reserve and National Guard veterans,” Williams said.
“We average 2,250 services a year,” he added.
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 Guard members can honor any veteran in Texas.
Saluting Veterans’ Service
“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,” Williams said.
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 Airman from World War II with the Air Force,” Levine said. “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.”
The Texas Honor Guard has approximately 14 full-time soldiers and 25 Guard members. Regardless of the veteran’s military branch, Texas Guard members treat every service branch with honor and respect.
‘It’s an Honor’
“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, World War II or whatever era that they served, we want to leave a lasting impression of our sincerity and appreciation for their military service.”
Strother joined the team in 2011 as a bugler. He worked his way up to an assistant team lead. He is the first Texas Guard member to perform nearly 1,900 services.
His leadership role enables him to pass along 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,” Strother said. “It is a very stressful job dealing with death and the families, but it is very rewarding in the same sense.”
Through the military funeral honors program, Texas Guard members are able to share their passion of providing the family one last military honor.
“The family sometimes doesn’t see the honor behind their veteran’s service; they just know that he or she sacrifices. They are gone a lot and they deploy a lot,” Levine said. “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.”
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