What Are Military Honors?

By: Tom Gallagher
Monday, August 30, 2021

By law, military funeral honors for all eligible veterans are free of charge. We at Gallagher Funeral Home provide these services, but we have seen that many people are not aware of what military honors are and how we conduct this type of service.

All About Military Honors

Here is some information that will help understand what’s involved.

  • Two US armed forces members will be present as the honor guard detail at a veteran’s burial. One member represents the deceased veteran’s parent service.
     
  • The veteran’s parent service representative will fold the American flag and present it to the veteran’s next of kin in the basic ceremony.
     
  • If a bugler is available, they will play the taps during the ceremony. In case of unavailability of buglers, we will play an electronic recording of the same.

Eligibility For Funeral Honors

The eligibility criteria for a person to be eligible for funeral honors are:

  • Military members in the selected reserves or those on active duty
     
  • Former military members that served on active duty and passed away under honorable conditions
     
  • Former veterans who have completed a minimum of a period of initial obligated service or one term of enlistment in the reserves have passed away under honorable conditions.

How Eligibility Is Verified

The preferred method for eligibility verification is:

  • DD 214
     
  • If this form is unavailable, a discharge document that shows anything other than a dishonorable service is acceptable.
     
  • The veteran’s family members can obtain the DD 214 by requesting it from the National Archives online.

As a family member of an eligible veteran, you can contact a funeral director who will make all the required arrangements by contacting the appropriate military service for the veteran’s funeral honors detail. For any details about military honors, feel free to call Gallagher Funeral Home at 318-640-1375.

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