We're proud to do our part in honoring our country's veterans for their dedication and selfless service by giving back to those whose sacrifice and patriotism define our great nation. We would be honored to help you make arrangements for any combination of traditional military tributes because we believe it's our duty to provide you and your family with professional and dignified assistance during your time of need.
Standard Honor Military Funerals
Traditional elements and honors can include the following:
- Flag Presentation Service by the chaplain of the American Legion
- A Final Salute at the gravesite
Full Honor Military Funerals
Full elements and honors includes standard honors and the following:
- Depending on their rank, a 21 Gun Salute
- The US Flag draped over the casket and given to the next of kin following services
- The Playing of Taps by a lone bugler or audio recording
Other Veteran Benefits
In addition to coordinating honors related to the service itself, we can help you communicate with the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to arrange for:
- A Presidential Memorial Certificate. This is a certificate expressing the nation's recognition of the veteran's service. The veteran's name is inscribed and the certificate bears the signature of the president. Certificates are issued in the name of honorably discharged, deceased veterans. Contact us for assistance in applying for a Presidential Memorial Certificate, and we would be happy to guide you through the process.
- Headstones or Markers. The VA provides headstones and markers for the graves of veterans anywhere in the world and for eligible dependents of veterans buried in national, state veteran or military cemeteries.
- Memorial Plots. If an eligible veteran's remains are not available for burial, the VA will provide a plot and headstone or marker in a national cemetery for memorialization. If you wish to place the memorial in a cemetery other than a national cemetery, the VA will provide the headstone or marker but not the plot itself.
- Burial in a VA National Cemetery. This includes the gravesite, opening and closing of the grave,a grave box, and perpetual care.
- Reimbursement of Burial Expenses. For information on eligibility and the different levels of potential reimbursement, please review their Guide to VA Burial Allowances.
Additional Resources
Please visit the following links for detailed information about the options available for honoring service members and other aspects of military funerals:
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Click on Veteran Services and look underneath the Burials & Memorials heading.
- Veterans' Funeral and Burial Benefits. Helpful information from Funeral Consumers Alliance.
- Honoring Those Who Served. An explanation of the various types of honors available for military funerals.
What kind of man would do such a thing?
Jack Tilley, a Sergeant Major of the Army, was with a group of people who recently were visiting wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington , DC.
He saw a Special Forces soldier who had lost his right hand and suffered severe wounds of his face and side of his body. Sgt. Tilley wanted to honor him and show him respect without offending, but what can you say or do in such a situation that will encourage and uplift? How do you shake the right hand of a soldier who has none? He decided to act as though the hand was not missing and gripped the soldiers wrist while speaking words of comfort and encouragement to him.
However, there was another man in the group who knew exactly what to do. This man reverently took the soldier's stump of a hand in both of his hands, bowed at the bedside, and prayed for him. When he finished the prayer he stood up, bent over the soldier, kissed him on the head, and told him that he loved him. Sgt. Tilley was awed by the powerful expression of love for one of our wounded heroes he was witnessing! "What a beautiful Christ-like example!" he thought, moved to tears. What kind of a man would do such a thing?
It was the wounded man's Commander-In-Chief, George W. Bush, President of The United States.
This eyewitness account was told by Sergeant Major Jack Tilley at a Soldiers Breakfast at Red Stone Arsenal, AL, and recorded by Chaplain James Henderson, who was stationed there.
