How to fire artillery salutes

One Hand Clapping ^ | 6/12/2004 | Donald Sensing

[300winmag]

Does anyone know the current procedures for burial of vets? I've heard that with the army overcommitted, taps is being played as a cassette over a loudspeaker, and RC units are now doing the details for burial (which was once done by active duty units). Anyone got the info on this? Just curious.

You heard correct. If you get RC, you're lucky. Last year, we buried my uncle, an ADA orangeleg from WW2, and the honor guard was VFW members almost as old as he was. Taped Taps, rounds from Garands with blank adapters. Still brought tears to my eyes.

Our battery had the morning salute detail for one summer camp. A 75mm pack howitzer on a grassy hill overlooking camp HQ.

We knew our gunbunnies were getting lazy, so some unknown individual stuffed a couple of pillows about halfway up the tube. I didn't see it happen, but it looked like a small snowfall on the side of the hill. After that, not pounding the tube as the first action risked an Article 15.

[Lawgvr1955]

I am on the color guard with my local American Legion. Years ago I volunteered for bugle duty when the locals started using boom boxes at ceremonies. I thought it was terrible. Unfortunately, I was doing about two funerals a week and couldn't keep doing them as I was starting a new practice.

When I am not available, one of the members uses the digital trumpet. As he says, the commander orders the bugler to "sound Taps", not "play Taps". The other day for Memorial Day we went round to a dozen cemeteries and town halls. The commander wanted me to play "echo" trumpet to the digital trumpet. Talk about pressure. There I was through out the day playing behind a computerized recording of probably the best rendition of Taps the designers could find. But it worked out okay.

[El Gato]

we had a 21 gun salute in my back yard yesterday we live in anaheim i used blanks but my neighbors called the police

And what did the police say?

[SAMWolf]

RedLeg Bump

[Ruth A.]

Dang, I wish I knew that. I would have zoomed up to the army barracks here in Hawaii.

[PoorMuttly]

Big noes, little ones...they're all amazing. After dinosaurs...Muttly became fixated on howitzers...and never looked back.

Glad about it, too !

[PoorMuttly]

ones. but their noes are cute too.

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[agincourt1415]

I was closely watching several of the 21 gun salutes to Pres. Reagan and I noticed that the 3rd Gun in line was not firing by the ripples, were they holding one gun in reserve or what was the deal?

[dts32041]

Should have known somebody would know something about our cannon.

Only on Free republic.

BTW do you how many cranks it takes for a Gatling gun to keep a complete rotation of its barrels?

[RedlegCPT]

Not on any Redlegs grave. We will always provide the correct number of rounds.

You are correct about the smoke (Chief of Smoke (Platoon SGT)) announcing "Gun X stand by fire" He was announcing what we in the proffesion refer to as fire commands.

[RedlegCPT]

All 50 States.

[CatoRenasci]

When I was at VMI in the '60s, the Cadet Battery used M101A1's (the WWII vintage split trail 105mm). There was one permanently stationed outside barracks on a concrete platform as the evening gun, but when salutes and honors needed to be rendered, a full six gun battery of 105's went into battery at the end of the parade ground. Back before VMI gave up its horses during WWII, the Cadet Batteries(!) were horse-drawn French 75's, configured as horse artillery. The designated salute battery would apparently gallop (canter?) onto the field and go into battery for the salute. I've only seen it at VMI on film, but there was a horse-drawn Field Artillery half-section at Ft. Sill with a French 75mm which would do the same thing from time to time, especially at firepower demonstrations. It was impressive. In most pre-WWII VMI garrison reviews, there would be two Batteries of horse artillery, two cavalry troops and two infantry companies.

Subsequently, the four six-pounders of the Letcher Battery (guns which served throughout the Late Unpleasantness and have been at the Institute since the 1870s) were brought back to firing condition and now they are sometimes used to render salutes, although the timing is different. It takes close to a minute for a very well trained crew to reload a muzzle-loading six-pounder, even under optimal conditions.

[kayak]

Fascinating thread. Thanks for the info, Cannoneer No. 4.

[Political Junkie Too]

I was thinking about the honors and salutes (the "pomp and circumstance" as the media puts it) that President Reagan received last week. It struck me that it was all symbolic of the military's subservience to the people, via their elected Commander-In-Chief.

Some in the media have been questioning whether we still need these kinds of tributes. I think that this is what keeps our military from being a conquering army -- it's willingness to subordinate itself to the people instead of the people being ruled by our military.

It is the precision and training put into honorary duties for civilian authorities that distinguishes our military from conquering armies. The pomp and circumstance that we just saw last week is proof of that (or am I reading too much into it?).

-PJ

[kayak]

During this week's activities, I had some questions about our military bands ... all of which performed superbly!

Is one permanently assigned to bands or is a band a routine assignment interspersed between other duty assignments? Are members constantly being rotated in and out of bands or is the membership fairly stable over a period of time?

I have the same type of question related to the choral groups.

All of the military participation in the funeral activities was just magnificent ... the bands and choral groups, the honor guards, and all, up to and including the young man who held the umbrella for Mrs. Reagan on Friday ... and Major General Jackman, who escorted Mrs. Reagan was just wonderful.

[kayak]

Interesting point ... but I can't imagine anyone wanting to dispense with that type of tribute. It is absolutely stirring and majestic. I would guess that it's the liberals who hate our military anyway who are suggesting such a silly notion.

Btw, in reference to your tag line, I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that it will NEVER again be safe to vote Democrat.

[Ranald S. MacKenzie]

This is slightly off topic, but not worth a separate post.

When the flag was presented to Mrs. Reagan was the officer's
address to her scripted? Is it the same for all military funerals, or did he address her personally? (If its scripted what does the officer say?)

[windchime]

Bump!