History of Military Honors
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The Department of the Army Drill & Ceremonies Manual states:
"The funerals of soldiers, more than any other ceremony have followed an old pattern
as the living honor the brave dead.
Funeral services of great magnificence evolved as custom (from what is known about
early Christian mourning) in the 6th century. To this day, no religious ceremonies are
conducted with more pomp than those intended to commemorate the departed.
The first general mourning proclaimed in America was on the death of Benjamin Franklin
in 1791 and the next on the death of George Washington in 1799. The deep and
widespread grief occasioned by the death of the first President assembled a great
number of people for the purpose of paying him a last tribute of respect. On Wednesday,
18 December 1799, attended by military honors and the simplest but grandest ceremonies
of religion, his body was deposited in the family vault at Mount Vernon, Virginia.
Several military traditions employed today have been brought forward from the past.
Reversed arms, displayed by one opponent on the battlefield, signaled that a truce was
requested so that the dead and wounded could be carried off and the dead buried.
Today’s customary three rifle volleys fired over a grave probably originated as far back
as the Roman Empire. The Roman funeral rites of casting dirt three times on the coffin
constituted the “burial”. It was customary among the Romans to call the dead three
times by name, which ended the funeral ceremony, after which the friends and relatives
of the deceased pronounced the word “vale” (farewell) three times as they departed
from the tomb. In more recent history, three musket volleys were fired to announce that
the burying of the dead was completed and the burial party was ready for battle again.
The custom of using a caisson to carry a coffin most likely had its origins in the 1800s
when horse-drawn caissons that pulled artillery pieces also doubled as a conveyance to
clear fallen soldiers from the battlefield..
In the mid to late 1800s a funeral procession of a mounted officer or enlisted man was
accompanied by a rider-less horse in mourning caparison followed by a hearse. It was
also a custom to have the boots of the deceased thrown over the saddle with heels to
the front signifying that his march was ended."
The Drill & Ceremonies manual also provides for a statement at the time of presenting the Flag to the next of kin. Latitude in the construction of this statement is provided by the words, “such as: As a representative of the United States Army, it is my high privilege to present to you this flag. Let it be a symbol of the grateful appreciation our nation feels for the distinguished service rendered to our country and our flag by your loved one."
FM22-5 / FM 3-21.5 (Department of the Army Drill & Ceremonies Manual), July 2003
The Department of the Army Drill & Ceremonies Manual states:
"The funerals of soldiers, more than any other ceremony have followed an old pattern
as the living honor the brave dead.
Funeral services of great magnificence evolved as custom (from what is known about
early Christian mourning) in the 6th century. To this day, no religious ceremonies are
conducted with more pomp than those intended to commemorate the departed.
The first general mourning proclaimed in America was on the death of Benjamin Franklin
in 1791 and the next on the death of George Washington in 1799. The deep and
widespread grief occasioned by the death of the first President assembled a great
number of people for the purpose of paying him a last tribute of respect. On Wednesday,
18 December 1799, attended by military honors and the simplest but grandest ceremonies
of religion, his body was deposited in the family vault at Mount Vernon, Virginia.
Several military traditions employed today have been brought forward from the past.
Reversed arms, displayed by one opponent on the battlefield, signaled that a truce was
requested so that the dead and wounded could be carried off and the dead buried.
Today’s customary three rifle volleys fired over a grave probably originated as far back
as the Roman Empire. The Roman funeral rites of casting dirt three times on the coffin
constituted the “burial”. It was customary among the Romans to call the dead three
times by name, which ended the funeral ceremony, after which the friends and relatives
of the deceased pronounced the word “vale” (farewell) three times as they departed
from the tomb. In more recent history, three musket volleys were fired to announce that
the burying of the dead was completed and the burial party was ready for battle again.
The custom of using a caisson to carry a coffin most likely had its origins in the 1800s
when horse-drawn caissons that pulled artillery pieces also doubled as a conveyance to
clear fallen soldiers from the battlefield..
In the mid to late 1800s a funeral procession of a mounted officer or enlisted man was
accompanied by a rider-less horse in mourning caparison followed by a hearse. It was
also a custom to have the boots of the deceased thrown over the saddle with heels to
the front signifying that his march was ended."
The Drill & Ceremonies manual also provides for a statement at the time of presenting the Flag to the next of kin. Latitude in the construction of this statement is provided by the words, “such as: As a representative of the United States Army, it is my high privilege to present to you this flag. Let it be a symbol of the grateful appreciation our nation feels for the distinguished service rendered to our country and our flag by your loved one."
FM22-5 / FM 3-21.5 (Department of the Army Drill & Ceremonies Manual), July 2003