Pulling funeral detail in the Army.

While the three brigades of your division were cycling through the training cycle (the division was never fully trained!), you'd have a period where your brigade was primarily tasked to support the training of the other two brigades/

You were also the ready source of manpower for the housekeeping of the installation, and a few other things.

Among other things, one of the companies in the brigade was tasked to provide support for funeral details in a certain catchment area around the installation. /

We would literally spend weeks practicing to provide proper honors at the graveside for veterans and retirees (active duty deaths were vanishingly small in the 80s and 90s).

I've always been a grabass kinda troop, and loved to play the fool.

But when it came to funeral detail, that. didn't. happen.

Guys, some family members are having the worst day of their life. Don't fuck this up./

When we could, we'd provide the full honors, with a full casket team, and a firing party.

For some other situations, we'd have to settle for the less impressive two man detail to fold the flag.

The service doesn't provide the flag. Oddly, the post office does that. /

Most funeral directors knew how to get a flag. More than once, however, we had to make a VERY quick trip to Walmart.

We got smart and started carrying a spare when we traveled./

If you were lucky enough to get a firing party, well, obviously, they're firing blanks.

One thing we would do (not strictly in the regulation, but quite the honored tradition) was to slip three shell casings in the flag after it was folded.

But blanks are ugly. /

After a regular live fire, we'd stockpile a small stash of regular, live expended bras. And we'd have them shined with Brasso. We'd wrap them in a brand new, highly starched white handkerchief.

Three volleys. Three rounds.

Duty. Honor. Country. /

We literally spent weeks practicing folding the flag to get it looking as perfect as possible, so you you could take it home, and later have it placed in a shadow box.

If it was full honors, I'd present the flag to the officer in Charge and salute. /

If it was a two man detail, I'd have to do the presentation of the flag to the next of kin myself.

*Protip- check with the funeral director beforehand to make DAMN sure you know who the next of kin actually is*

"On behalf of the President of the United States, and the United States Army, please accept this flag as a token of appreciation for your loved one's faithful service."

I meant the hell out of that every damn time.

When I was a recruiter in Indiana, I'd fairly frequently get a panicked call from a funeral director asking me about graveside honors. I had a number for him to call, but sometimes, there just wasn't enough time.

Or, nobody could really find grandpa's DD214./

I would simply presume they really were a vet, and guess what, kept a flag on hand (out of my own pocket).

I also kept a set of Dress Blues loaded in my closet at home. Just for this purpose. /

I'd meet the family and the funeral director and/or clergy graveside, and drape the coffin with the flag, and after any service, have the funeral director hold the end while I folded. I'm not that bright, but I can fold fairly well. /

I joined the Army to serve my fellow citizens. And I'd say showing a little kindness and compassion to the family is pretty well up there in terms of service.