Posted on Sep 5, 2023
Military funerals at risk in Colorado due to dwindling number of volunteers for ceremonies
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"The All Veterans Honor Guard says unless it can attract more volunteers, it will dissolve and thousands of veterans may go without military honors."
Military funerals at risk in Colorado due to dwindling number of volunteers for ceremonies
Posted from cbsnews.com
Funeral
Volunteer
Posted 9 mo ago
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When my father passed, after 32 years of service from WWII through Korea and Vietnam, the best they could do was send 1 guy with a tape recorder of taps. The patriot guard was started in Kansas and I still see many of them at the nearby funeral home.
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Very thought provoking. As a past special duty honor guardsman, it was my job to provide these services to the fallen. These gentlemen are volunteers. Quite dedicated. And there are volunteers like them all around the country.
Favorite quote from article: All he knows of those who died is that they were willing to die for the U.S. "Each one is treated with the same respect and dignity that they deserve,"
Favorite quote from article: All he knows of those who died is that they were willing to die for the U.S. "Each one is treated with the same respect and dignity that they deserve,"
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LTC Eugene Chu
"“I’ve been out here when we’ve done 13 (funerals) in one day,” says Colonel Les Kennedy. “I’m going to tell you,13 is a tough day.”
He’s among some 80 veterans who conduct more than 1,500 military funerals a year in Colorado.
“If you look,” Kennedy observed, “we’re all gray-haired. We’re taking the place of the military. This is what happens. This is a military function by statute, by law.”
But the military can’t keep up, so volunteers like Kennedy and Alan Jaffe have stepped in.
“We’re here for a purpose and it’s not for ourselves,” says Jaffe.
military-burials-6pkg-transfer-frame-1236.jpg
CBS
As team commander, he leads the services. All he knows of those who died is that they were willing to die for the U.S. “Each one is treated with the same respect and dignity that they deserve,” Jaffe says.
The ceremony includes the playing of “Taps,” the presentation of the American flag and a three-volley salute.
Jaffe called it “a sad duty of respect.”
It is a duty they carry out with no pay."...
"“I’ve been out here when we’ve done 13 (funerals) in one day,” says Colonel Les Kennedy. “I’m going to tell you,13 is a tough day.”
He’s among some 80 veterans who conduct more than 1,500 military funerals a year in Colorado.
“If you look,” Kennedy observed, “we’re all gray-haired. We’re taking the place of the military. This is what happens. This is a military function by statute, by law.”
But the military can’t keep up, so volunteers like Kennedy and Alan Jaffe have stepped in.
“We’re here for a purpose and it’s not for ourselves,” says Jaffe.
military-burials-6pkg-transfer-frame-1236.jpg
CBS
As team commander, he leads the services. All he knows of those who died is that they were willing to die for the U.S. “Each one is treated with the same respect and dignity that they deserve,” Jaffe says.
The ceremony includes the playing of “Taps,” the presentation of the American flag and a three-volley salute.
Jaffe called it “a sad duty of respect.”
It is a duty they carry out with no pay."...
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