I served 20 years as an officer in the US Navy. My last 5 years of assignments were as the Commanding Officer and Executive Officer of Reserve Centers in Jackson, MS and New Orleans, LA. Service members who die on active duty and retired service members are entitled to a 21-gun salute at their funeral, if resources are available. All veterans are entitled to a flag, personnel to fold it and present to next of kin, and a playing or taps (live or recorded). My reserve center staff providing the flag folding and presentations and taps over most of central Mississippi. If the deceased was an officer, then I attended to present the flag ( I was the only officer on the staff). NAS Meridian had a permanently assigned honors detail that would provide the 21-gun salute and a live bugler to play taps. Otherwise, we played a recorded version of taps that was provided by the VA for playing at funerals. When we received a request for funeral honors, the request took precedence over all of our other duties, up to including closing the reserve center down for the time we would be gone. It was an honor to provide that service to our country's veterans.
_________________ LTG L. G. Bertolino 3rd CSS Flotillia The Bayou Patrol Army of the Mississippi
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