scrooloose

Have you ever been to one. I had a friend die in the Army (not from war) and the most depressing part is when they do the roll call and call the soldiers name 3 times, this happend 5 years ago and I still get choked up about it.

fhqwhgads

I've been to a few law enforcement funerals, and they do something similar.

My buddy died in September, and they called him over the radio three times at the funeral. I just kept standing there waiting for him to answer his radio, then I broke into tears. It's a real emotional moment.

tropple

I did a number of funerals for sailors amd marines in the 70's.

It always sucks.

No funeral for me.

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+++++++++++Boom!

sailor

My grandfather was in the air force all his life. I was pretty young when he died, but I most certainly remember the 21-gun salute. That and one of the shooters fainting in the heat.

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"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws."
--Plato

SaltPork

My Grandfather had a military funeral just a couple of years ago. I had my moments, but was holding together pretty well until they played Taps. I was done after that, I wept uncontrollably...I miss him terribly.

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It was like that when I got here....I swear.

Sparhawk

Been part of the Honor Guard for over two years now, have buried I don't know how many airmen. Check out my journal for a quick story I wrote about it, that tries to delve at the emotion I feel every time I pay my tribute.

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"In Iraq, no doubt about it, it's tough. It's hard work. It's incredibly hard. It's - and it's hard work. I understand how hard it is. I get the casualty reports every day. I see on the TV screens how hard it is. But it's necessary work. We're making progress. It is hard work."

CrazySaturn

I remember seeing a World War II veterans remebrance at an air show including a missing man formation of era-exact P-51's. I've never seen that many people that quiet.

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What's the difference between you and a mallard with a cold? One's a sick duck...I can't remember how it ends, but your mother is a whore!

ubertuber

At least in my eyes, meaningful would be a more accurate description than depressing...

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Cogito ergo spud -- I think, therefore I yam

losthellhound

Ooh.. missing man formation. That really killed me. My cousin wasnt military or police but flew a paramedic plane that crashed in BC. I was fine right up until they screamed overhead, did the missing man.. I lost it from then on out..

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"Life is possible only with illusions. And so, the question for the science of mental health must become an absolutely new and revolutionary one, yet one that reflects the essence of the human condition: On what level of illusion does one live?"
-- Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death

Pragma

Military funerals hit me very hard - a lot more than civilian funerals. The 21-gun salute, Taps, and especially the presentation of the flag.

They're very moving affairs.

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Eat antimatter, Posleen-boy!

crow_daw

I, too, experienced a military funeral after the passing of my grandfather. The 21 gun salute was what killed me. It's amazing the impact that carries. I hope I don't have to attend another one.

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"We each have a star, all we have to do is find it. Once you do, everyone who sees it will be blinded." - Earl Simmons

viejo gringo

I was at one--my cousin in Vietnam conflict---not a good
feeling...we were very cclose to the same age....

Of coarse the worse one I have heard of was just a couple
of weeks ago in Mexico---one of their nationals joined our marines
and was killed in Iraq...His wife wanted him buried in his home
town in Mexico. The only problem was the Mexican government said our people could not give the 21 gun salute because they could not have"armed soilders from another country on Mexican soil". So the honor guard took 2 dummy cerimonial rifles.
The federalies actually blocked the funeral procession and wanted to take the rifels...they explaned that they were just dummys but it made no dofference...they called for the Mexican army...the marines held their position and continued with the funeral...the american counsel has asked for a formal apology.

No wonder so many people are trying to get out of there...

Sparhawk

What an awful experience, gringo. I wonder if/hope they were able to honor him stateside.

The men and women who do this job train hours and hours and hours, over and over, to get the movements right. But we are human, and sometimes we do make mistakes.

The pinnacle of this tradition is with the Presidential funerals like JFK and Reagan. I'm still amazed that the same color guard carried the flag all the way from where the Caisson was unloaded all the way to the Capitol, and into the Rotunda, with no swapping at all. Incredible.

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"In Iraq, no doubt about it, it's tough. It's hard work. It's incredibly hard. It's - and it's hard work. I understand how hard it is. I get the casualty reports every day. I see on the TV screens how hard it is. But it's necessary work. We're making progress. It is hard work."

yabobo

I was honor gaurd 1986- 1987 plus.
we took heros to the grave. It should give you chills.
What these women and men did for your freedom cann't
be expressed in a forum so small as the tfp.

I welled up with tears with men and women I didn't even know.
They went to their eternal home for what they belived in.
Weather you agree or not they died for the freedom you have.

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Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?
Only in America......do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well: 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures'.