"Rogers said he feels a connection with every veteran whose funeral he participates in. "I feel like they're my brothers," he said. "They're my brothers in arms. It's a great honor doing funerals, no matter whose funeral it is. "
God bless all these young men for their dedication to serving our military dead.
We interred our father's remains in the new national cemetary in Dallas several years ago. He was given military honors. It was so moving and comforting to see those magnificent young men so firmly and compassionately bid him farewell. The attitude quoted above was very evident in the composure and bearing of the ones who served in my father's ceremony. The 21 gun salute echoes in my heart to this day.
I had the honor of being one of the 21 gun salute guys for the funeral of a Viet Nam vet and bigshot with the Washington state VFW and American Legion. The man actually died from complications from his wounds in Viet Nam. That was only the second funeral I'd ever been to and I didn't feel one bit of sadness because I was too filled with pride for having the honor of serving on that great man's burial detail. The other Nam vets in attendence really appreciated us being there and talked to all of us after the ceremony. There was a real sense of brotherhood and love between us young guys and the older vets. I'll never forget that day. I can't imagine the love that's felt buy these honor guard men and women for President Reagan. Even though most of them were toddlers or a twinkle in their parents eye when he was president, I'm sure the crusty old NCO's filled them in on what Reagan did for the US military.