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HELEN TALBO; Lakewood
Published: 12/17/09 12:05 am
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Recommend (0)Re: “Memorial: Why no spectacle for fallen soldiers?” (letter, 12-13).
Different protocols apply to funerals of police department and military personnel. Although police are global in solidarity, they are members of a local area. Consequently, a local police committee plans police funerals. One protocol is a public event that designates full military-style ceremonial honors for personnel who died in the line of duty. Law enforcement policies and procedures allow other agencies to participate in police funerals.
Protocol for a military honors funeral requires that the family of a deceased veteran, submit a request for a funeral honors unit to the secretary of defense. That ensures that a guard unit of at least two uniformed members of the armed forces is provided for any deserving veteran. A family may request additional uniformed personnel or a veterans’ organization, such as the American Legion.
A guard unit escorts the body to the site of ceremonial or religious rites and to funeral grounds, where at minimum, the guard unit plays “Taps,” folds and presents the U.S. flag to a family member, and expresses condolences to the family. The guard unit is dismissed from the burial site by the guard unit leader and concludes military funeral honors protocol. The guard unit may leave or remain until the family departs.
These distinct funeral arrangements for deceased police and military personnel may provide clarity to the writer with respect and honor accorded to the deceased personnel of each of these departments.
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