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| "On behalf of the President of the United States...." |
MILITARY FUNERAL FLAG PRESENTATION PROTOCOL
A United States flag drapes the casket of deceased Service members and Veterans to honor their service to America. The flag is placed so that the blue field with stars is at the head and over the left shoulder of the deceased. After Taps has been played, the flag is carefully folded into the symbolic tri-cornered shape. A properly proportioned flag will fold 13 times on the triangles, representing the 13 original colonies. The folded flag is emblematic of the tri-cornered hat worn by the Patriots of the American Revolution. When folded, no red or white stripe is to be evident, leaving only the blue field with stars. The folded flag is then presented as a keepsake to the next of kin or an appropriate family member. Each branch of the Armed Forces uses its own wording for the presentation...
U.S. Army ... This flag is presented on behalf of a grateful nation and the United States Army as a token of appreciation for your loved one's honorable and faithful service.
U.S. Marine Corps ... On behalf of the President of the United States, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's service to Country and Corps.
U.S. Navy ... On behalf of the President of the United States and the Chief of Naval Operations, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's service to this Country and a grateful Navy.
U.S. Air Force ... On behalf of the President of the United States, the Department of the Air Force, and a grateful nation, we offer this flag for the faithful and dedicated service of rank and name of deceased.
U.S. Coast Guard ... On behalf of the President of the United States, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's service to Country and the Coast Guard.
If the next of kin has expressed a religious preference or belief, add ... God bless you and this family, and God bless the United States of America.
And NOW there is this President’s amendment to the above.
Please read the following message:
Subject: MILITARY FUNERAL PROTOCOL
Today I was incensed at the conclusion of a traditional Serbian-Orthodox funeral for my 85 year old uncle, Daniel Martich, who served in the US Army during The Korean Conflict.
During the committal service at a Pittsburgh cemetery, the local military detachment performed their ritual, then folded and presented the American Flag to my aunt.
As I'm sure you have witnessed during military funerals, a soldier bends to one knee and recites a scripted message to a surviving relative that begins, 'On behalf of the President of the United States and a grateful nation, I wish to present you with this flag in appreciation for your husband's service ...'.
However, today the dialogue was 'On behalf of the Secretary of Defense and a grateful nation ...'
After the service I approached the soldier who presented the flag to my aunt to inquire about the change in language. His response was, "The White House notified all military funeral service detachments to immediately remove 'the President' and insert 'the Secretary of Defense'.
I couldn't believe what I heard and the soldier smiled and said, "You can draw your own conclusion sir but that was the order".
He, too, was ashamed of what he was required to say. This president has taken off the gloves. My only response to this endless cesspool of Anti-American rhetoric dripping from his mouth is to borrow a phrase (with one minor change) uttered by another temporary Washington resident living in government housing: "Today for the first time in my adult life I was ASHAMED of my country".
As a second generation Serbian-American who's heritage produced many patriotic military men and women who fought for freedom both in The United States as well as in the former Yugoslavia (most recently in Kosovo against the slaughter of Serbs by Muslim extremists )
I urge you to make the American people aware of this little-known or, at least, publicly acknowledge this fact.
May God Bless you and your family during these difficult times. Our joint voice of reason is a welcome change from the insanity plastered across our country by the liberal media. Keep up the great work and thank you for your service to our country.
Sincerely,
John G. Martich
Weirton, WV
A United States flag drapes the casket of deceased Service members and Veterans to honor their service to America. The flag is placed so that the blue field with stars is at the head and over the left shoulder of the deceased. After Taps has been played, the flag is carefully folded into the symbolic tri-cornered shape. A properly proportioned flag will fold 13 times on the triangles, representing the 13 original colonies. The folded flag is emblematic of the tri-cornered hat worn by the Patriots of the American Revolution. When folded, no red or white stripe is to be evident, leaving only the blue field with stars. The folded flag is then presented as a keepsake to the next of kin or an appropriate family member. Each branch of the Armed Forces uses its own wording for the presentation...
U.S. Army ... This flag is presented on behalf of a grateful nation and the United States Army as a token of appreciation for your loved one's honorable and faithful service.
U.S. Marine Corps ... On behalf of the President of the United States, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's service to Country and Corps.
U.S. Navy ... On behalf of the President of the United States and the Chief of Naval Operations, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's service to this Country and a grateful Navy.
U.S. Air Force ... On behalf of the President of the United States, the Department of the Air Force, and a grateful nation, we offer this flag for the faithful and dedicated service of rank and name of deceased.
U.S. Coast Guard ... On behalf of the President of the United States, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's service to Country and the Coast Guard.
If the next of kin has expressed a religious preference or belief, add ... God bless you and this family, and God bless the United States of America.
And NOW there is this President’s amendment to the above.
Please read the following message:
Subject: MILITARY FUNERAL PROTOCOL
Today I was incensed at the conclusion of a traditional Serbian-Orthodox funeral for my 85 year old uncle, Daniel Martich, who served in the US Army during The Korean Conflict.
During the committal service at a Pittsburgh cemetery, the local military detachment performed their ritual, then folded and presented the American Flag to my aunt.
As I'm sure you have witnessed during military funerals, a soldier bends to one knee and recites a scripted message to a surviving relative that begins, 'On behalf of the President of the United States and a grateful nation, I wish to present you with this flag in appreciation for your husband's service ...'.
However, today the dialogue was 'On behalf of the Secretary of Defense and a grateful nation ...'
After the service I approached the soldier who presented the flag to my aunt to inquire about the change in language. His response was, "The White House notified all military funeral service detachments to immediately remove 'the President' and insert 'the Secretary of Defense'.
I couldn't believe what I heard and the soldier smiled and said, "You can draw your own conclusion sir but that was the order".
He, too, was ashamed of what he was required to say. This president has taken off the gloves. My only response to this endless cesspool of Anti-American rhetoric dripping from his mouth is to borrow a phrase (with one minor change) uttered by another temporary Washington resident living in government housing: "Today for the first time in my adult life I was ASHAMED of my country".
As a second generation Serbian-American who's heritage produced many patriotic military men and women who fought for freedom both in The United States as well as in the former Yugoslavia (most recently in Kosovo against the slaughter of Serbs by Muslim extremists )
I urge you to make the American people aware of this little-known or, at least, publicly acknowledge this fact.
May God Bless you and your family during these difficult times. Our joint voice of reason is a welcome change from the insanity plastered across our country by the liberal media. Keep up the great work and thank you for your service to our country.
Sincerely,
John G. Martich
Weirton, WV
Is this true? According to Snopes, the jury is still out."Undetermined"
This is true. I was at a funeral for a Navy vet and they didn't day "President of the United States" anytime during the ceremony. Personally, with this president I'd just as soon NOT have him mentioned!
ReplyDeleteWow that's why this guy has to go!
ReplyDeleteHow dare some right-winged nut use this solemn time to try to vilify Obama! Not only is this not true, how stupid for anyone to think that any President would change such words. No one has to like Obama or his policies but to use the funeral of a hero to perpetuate such hate is about as un-American as one could get. For those who like the truth, they can find out about this lie on www.urbanmyth.com
ReplyDeletehttp://www.urbanmyths.com/
ReplyDeleteI encourage everyone to always check out stories that have the potential to be false or exaggerated. This post was sent to us by a veteran and checked on Snopes who labeled it "Undetermined". We encourage readers to check it out at Snopes or at this site suggested by another reader.
I don't know if Obama changed it or not but I attended a military burial recently and IT WAS NOT INCLUDED. Perhaps they removed it to avoid contovercy between democrats and republicans.
ReplyDeleteIf you want your blog to be taken seriously, you should only post what is TRUE. Once you discover it is not, it should be removed. Unless of course you want to perpetuate a lie to cause further division in this country
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that lots of things in the news aren't "true". At least they checked Snopes. I happen to believe that people should be more tolerant of others opinions and ideas. You can disagree and question but how dare YOU call an American veteran a "right winged nut"! And it said "the white house", not Obama, which could be the VP or any of the President's advisors or cabinet members. I happen to be a middle of the road person myself and I really find both liberal and conservative fanatics ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteI will say it was a right-winged nut because this person lied to perpetuate a story that is 1. not true. 2. to vilify our AMERICAN President 3. to advance a political movement.
ReplyDeleteA liar is a liar. Liars are not heroes.
Wow...I think Marion opened up Pandora's box with this one. The net, net is this story is not true. I have a feeling whoever started this story is not a vet. That was probably said to try to give it some extra attention. But regardless of who started it, it has about as much truth as the Easter Bunny. We are all entited to our own opinions. However we are not entitled to our own facts. I hope that whoever did post this will write a retraction in the name of journalistic integrity. If not, it says more about them then the originator of the story itself.
ReplyDeleteThis was posted to the DRL blog as something of interest... it WAS pointed out that SNOPES has it as undetermined. It is not meant to be journalistic in any sense - but rather a topic of conversation and for those whom have interest to do their own research (- and that has happened).
ReplyDeleteIf you want journalism might we suggest an actual NEWS blog or network... Cause everything you see hear or read there - IS ALL ALWAYS TRUE, and NEVER tainted to the right or LEFT!
Barbera, I appreciate DRL wanting to post something for discussion. I think it should be important to research anything that is posted here as well, because you are at least amateur journalist, especially when posting articles such as this. Like it or not it goes to DRL's credibility. Otherwise this just becomes catty rumor mongering which is best left with Fox news.
ReplyDeleteHere you go GaryO... Marion's on it.
ReplyDeletehttp://delayedreactionlounge.blogspot.com/2011/10/drl-investigatesthe-truth-about.html
Not ready to comment on the journalist part - Still deciding my response. As always all comments appreciate and welcomed.
For the person who wrote "And it said "the white house", not Obama" I think you missed the part in the letter where it says: "This president has taken off the gloves." There's no gray area there, the writer is clearly singling out the current President directly.
ReplyDeleteEach branch of the military has its own wordings for these sad events. To think the current or any president has the power to change the words is ridiculous. But in a nation now so divided, many seem willing to grasp any rumor/email/blog post to vilify the other side.
As for DRL, I don't come for news. I go the hear the individual voices of people I consider my peers and friends. Many times that has included your personal reaction current events. This wasn't your voice. This was an "undetermined" "topic of conversation" left to us to "research."
You don't consider yourselves as journalists though in a follow up you use that very word. At best you're spreading false information, at worse you chance undermining your credibility.
You got a "reaction" for sure. Is it the kind you really want?
I correct myself, the follow up was an investigation, and did not include the the word journalism in any form.
ReplyDeleteThanks to DRL for letting everyone's voice be heard.