At least one member of the funeral detail will be from the deceased veteran's parent military service. The other may be from the same service or another military service. Other authorized providers, such as members of a veteran's organization, may be used to augment the military detail. No particular rank is specified in the law, but the services by tradition have ensured the person presenting the flag to the family is at least the grade of the deceased veteran. We believe this is a very important, meaningful and moving ceremony.
People say the finality of 'Taps' and the presentation of the flag provide an emotional closure.
The ceremony honoring the deceased veteran can be seen as an affirmation of the person's life, as well as an expression of the nation's gratitude. Veterans' families have had a hard time obtaining funeral honors due to the growing number of requests and to concurrent military force reductions, McGinn said. One quarter of the nation's 26 million veterans alive today are over age 65. Department of Veterans Affairs officials project the rate of veterans' deaths will rise through 2008 to about 620,000 per year, up from 456,000 deaths in 1989 and 537,000 in 1997. At the same time requests for funeral details have risen, the active force, since 1989, has fallen from 2.1 million to 1.4 million, with about a third stationed overseas or deployed on contingency operations.