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A military funeral is a memorial or burial rite given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards of honor, the firing of volley shots as a salute, drumming and other military elements, with a flag draping over the coffin.
Canadian military funerals involve many rituals seen in other parts of the world. The Royal Canadian Horse Artillery use a 25-pounder gun and limber as the funeral vehicle. Muffled drums accompany the graveside processional. The deceased's headdress, insignia and medals are borne on a velvet cushion into the funeral service. Volleys are fired over the grave when the body is interred. Countries in the Commonwealth duplicate the British military drill and ceremony. The Canadian funeral described above typifies the funerary service. The bugle tunes Last Post and The Rouse are played as the body is interred.[ citation needed ]
Despite being a police force and not a branch of the military, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was given battle honours as if were a dragoon regiment by King George V in 1921 in recognition of its members who served in the Boer and Great Wars. The RCMP therefore performs military-style "regimental funerals" for members and officers killed in the line of duty and retired members and officers with exceptional records of service. [1]
An RCMP regimental funeral will typically include a procession, a church service or public service, and either an interment or graveside ceremony for burials or chapel ceremony for cremations. [1] The procession includes a charger (a riderless horse), a bearer party commander, eight casket bearers, an insignia bearer if there are insignia to be borne, two headdress bearer, honorary pallbearers, a gun carriage or hearse. Dress is "review order" (Red Serge and Stetson). The RCMP's guidon may be present and if so is draped on a military drum for the procession. The casket may be draped with the national flag of Canada, the Union Jack, or the RCMP ensign. [1] Other police forces in Canada also refer to funerals for their officers in this way, as "regimental funerals", [2] despite not, in fact, being military regiments even ceremonially.
In Chilean military funerals, the German song "Ich hatt' einen Kameraden" is sung in its Spanish version ("Yo tenía un camarada"). The casket may or may not be horse-drawn on a caisson. A bugler sounds the final honors during interment.
When the coffin enters the tomb, a fireteam executes a salvo. [3] If for a general or flag officer, the 1st Artillery Regiment "Tacna" fires a three-volley gun salute.
In Germany, the coffin is covered by a "Bundesdienstflage" (Federal service flag) the eagle facing to the right, looking to the head of the deceased. At the level of the head of the deceased, a headdress (helmet, cap, mountain cap, beret), opening downwards, shield/edge pointing to the head of the coat of arms eagle is attached to the coffin. Since, according to German ceremonial, the coffin is lowered into the grave enveloped in the flag, a second flag is carried separately for the purpose of handing it over to the family. Ludwig Uhland's song "Ich hatt' einen Kameraden" is an integral part of a military funeral. It is played when the coffin is lowered into the grave, military personnel will perform a salute. [4] [5]
In Indonesia, military funerals are generally given only either towards retired personnel of the Indonesian National Armed Forces who served in domestic operations or in international peacekeeping operations or retired guerrillas and/or soldiers of the Indonesian National Revolution, especially those holding the " Bintang Gerilya (Star of the Guerrilla) " order, or to active personnel killed while on active duty service. Exceptional politicians and Ministers have the option for such a funeral, but most opt for a more intimate religious one. During the occasion of a state funeral, it is obligatory for a military funeral to be conducted, preceded by a final religious service before the funeral march begins. A Three-volley salute is the norm done by a squad seven soldiers occasionally a mixture of Armed Forces or Police personnel dependent on their career. [6] The Honour drill team surrounding the burial site is a platoon-size or company formation and the larger the platoon or company, the more illustrious the departed. Prayers are led by representatives of the person's religious faith. Similar traditions also exist in the Indonesian National Police.
See here: Indonesian Military Funeral Video Sample
During the funeral ceremony, the presiding officer of the ceremony reads a message of remembrance in the name of the government and people of Indonesia, as well as his/her chosen uniformed organization in which he/she served, preceded by a reading of the person's life and achievements, as well as of his/her military/police service record (if any). The text is as follows: [7]
In the name of and on behalf of the people and nation and the (states uniformed organization), I, (states name, rank and billet of appointment), together with (states names of co-presiding officer) hereby presents to you (states name of deceased, with rank, number and last appointment held), born as a son/daughter to (states name of father), and who, on (states date of death) in the (states name of hospital/place of death) passed away in the interests and dignity of the Nation and our people, who today is now being interred in the soils of our Motherland.
May his/her spirit be now led on the journey to Paradise/Heaven and may on the path of Holy Devotion his/her memory and legacy be to us a guide and inspiration.
(date of funeral and place of burial)
(name of presiding officer, rank and billet of appointment)
In Italy the members of the Armed Forces who died in the line of duty are granted a state funeral by decree of the Prime Minister. [8] So the funeral follows the protocol of a state funeral, and in particular the six officers in high uniform who carry the coffin are members of the same Armed Force of the departed.
In Poland, the last fragment of Władysław Tarnowski's song Śpij, kolego ("Sleep, friend"), [9] [10] [11] a portion of the larger composition Jak to na wojence ładnie (the title has no precise English translation, but it is roughly "how nice it is in war", with a diminutive form conveying a sense of ironic solidarity) [12] is an integral part of a military funeral, played by a trumpeter. It is also played during state ceremonies. Also part of it is a three volley salute (salwa honorowa) with the firing party consisting of an armed platoon or company.
In Russia, the people eligible for the military funerals are the distinguished veterans honorably discharged from service, servicemen killed in action or otherwise perished during their active service, state dignitaries and some other categories of people who distinguished themselves in state service. The ritual includes the honor guard, size of which depends on the deceased rank and status and may vary from merely a squad to a full company, which escorts the departed to the hearse and from the hearse to the grave, with a special detachment to carry the deceased's awards. A military marching band accompanies the funeral procession as well, traditionally playing the "How glorious is our Lord" (an old Royal anthem from XVIII century) as the body is put on the hearse and the National Anthem of Russia during the salute after the actual burial. On special occasions the garrison commander may authorise the use of a gun carriage (horse or motor drawn at his discretion) instead of a traditional motor hearse (a gun carriage in a Continental style is traditionally used in Russia instead of a caisson preferred in the Anglosphere). A deceased's portrait is carried before the procession, followed by the funerary wreaths and the awards, with the pallbearers following them. All military personnel presented are required to stand at attention as a flag-wrapped casket passes them. Aside from a flag, a land or air forces veteran is buried with his or her regulation cap on the casket, while naval officers are also entitled to their ceremonial dirk and its sheath to be crossed on a casket cover. Russian Orthodox clergy say a memorial player for the deceased serviceman or woman. At the burial ground, the eulogy is first read, the flag is lowered and the band plays the funerary march as the casket is lowered into the grave, after which a three-volley salute is fired with blank rounds, followed by the performance of the national anthem by the band. An artillery gun salute may be authorised for a particularly important funeral for a general or flag officer.
In Spain, the formed troops sing " La muerte no es el final ": Death is not the End during funeral ceremonies and in all military ceremonies, when the fallen are being honored. The Spanish Legion has an exception: the regimental hymn Novio de la Muerte (Bridegroom of Death) is played in full instead during occasions that the Legion attends.
The British Army carries reversed arms at military funerals. The Last Post and Rouse or Reveille are sounded at the appropriate moment during the rite.
In the United States, the United States Army Military District of Washington (MDW) is responsible for providing military funerals. "Honoring Those Who Served" is the title of the program for instituting a dignified military funeral with full honors to the nation's veterans.
As of January 1, 2000, Section 578 of Public Law 106-65 of the National Defense Authorization Act mandates that the United States Armed Forces shall provide the rendering of honors in a military funeral for any eligible veteran if requested by his or her family. As mandated by federal law, an honor guard detail for the burial of an eligible veteran shall consist of no fewer than two members of the Armed Forces. One member of the detail shall be a representative of the parent armed service of the deceased veteran. The honor guard detail will, at a minimum, perform a ceremony that includes the folding and presenting of the flag of the United States to the next of kin and the playing of "Taps", which will be played by a lone bugler, if available, or by audio recording. [13] Today, there are so few buglers available that the United States Armed Forces often cannot provide one. [14] However, federal law allows Reserve and National Guard units to assist with funeral honors duty when necessary. On the day of the burial or interment, the U.S. Flag is lowered to half-staff.
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect the dead, from interment, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour. Customs vary between cultures and religious groups. Funerals have both normative and legal components. Common secular motivations for funerals include mourning the deceased, celebrating their life, and offering support and sympathy to the bereaved; additionally, funerals may have religious aspects that are intended to help the soul of the deceased reach the afterlife, resurrection or reincarnation.
Trooping the Colour is a ceremonial event performed every year on Horse Guards Parade in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of Household Division, to celebrate the official birthday of the British sovereign. It is also known as the Sovereign's Birthday Parade. Similar events are held in other countries of the Commonwealth. In the UK, it is, with the State Opening of Parliament, the biggest event of the ceremonial calendar, and watched by millions on TV and on the streets of London.
Burial at sea is the disposal of human remains in the ocean, normally from a ship, boat or aircraft. It is regularly performed by navies, and is done by private citizens in many countries.
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition. Generally, state funerals are held in order to involve the general public in a national day of mourning after the family of the deceased gives consent. A state funeral will often generate mass publicity from both national and global media outlets.
A riderless horse is a single horse without a rider and with boots reversed in the stirrups, which sometimes accompanies a funeral procession. The horse, sometimes caparisoned in black, follows the caisson carrying the casket. A riderless horse can also be featured in parades to symbolize either fallen soldiers, fallen police officers or deceased equestrian athletes. A motorcycle can be used as a substitute for a horse though such practice is very rare.
A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person.
On June 5, 2004, Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, died after having Alzheimer's disease for over a decade. Reagan was the first former U.S. president to die in 10 years since Richard Nixon in 1994. At the age of 93 years, 120 days, Reagan was the longest-lived U.S. president in history at the time of his death, a record which was surpassed by Gerald Ford on November 12, 2006. His seven-day state funeral followed. After Reagan's death, his body was taken from his Bel Air home to the Kingsley and Gates Funeral Home in Santa Monica, California, to prepare the body for burial. On June 7, Reagan's casket was transported by hearse and displayed at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, then flown to Washington, D.C., on June 9 for a service, public viewing and tributes at the U.S. Capitol.
The United States Air Force Honor Guard is the official ceremonial unit of the United States Air Force and is assigned to Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington D.C.
The three-volley salute is a ceremonial act performed at military funerals and sometimes also police funerals. The custom likely originates with Roman funeral rites. Dirt would be cast on the body three times followed, and the ceremony was ended by the deceased's name being called three times. It was then customary for the friends and relatives of the deceased to repeat the word 'vale' three times. In more recent history three volleys were fired to signify the end of a funeral and that the burial detail was to be ready for battle.
Camp Nelson National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in southern Jessamine County, Kentucky. It was originally a graveyard associated with the U.S. Army's Camp Nelson, which was active during the U.S. Civil War and its aftermath. The camp was named for Major General William "Bull" Nelson, commander of the Civil War Army of Kentucky, who was murdered by a fellow officer in 1862.
On December 26, 2006, Gerald Ford, the 38th president of the United States, died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California at 6:45 p.m. local time. At 8:49 p.m. local time, his wife of 58 years, Betty Ford, issued a statement announcing his death. The causes of death listed on the death certificate were arteriosclerotic cerebrovascular disease and diffuse arteriosclerosis.
A funeral procession is a procession, usually in motor vehicles or by foot, from a funeral home or place of worship to the cemetery or crematorium. In earlier times the deceased was typically carried by male family members on a bier or in a coffin to the final resting place. This practice has shifted over time toward transporting the deceased in a hearse, while family and friends follow in their vehicles. The transition from the procession by foot to procession by car can be attributed to two main factors; the switch to burying or cremating the body at locations far from the funeral site and the introduction of motorized vehicles and public transportation making processions by foot through the street no longer practical.
In the United States, state funerals are the official funerary rites conducted by the federal government in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., that are offered to a sitting or former president, a president-elect, high government officials and other civilians who have rendered distinguished service to the nation. Administered by the Military District of Washington (MDW), a command unit of the Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region, state funerals are greatly influenced by protocol, steeped in tradition, and rich in history. However, the overall planning as well as the decision to hold a state funeral, is largely determined by a president and their family.
In the United Kingdom, state funerals are usually reserved for monarchs. The most recent was the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022.
A military funeral in the United States is a memorial or burial rite conducted by the United States Armed Forces for a Soldier, Marine, Sailor, Airman, Guardian or Coast Guardsman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or a president. A military funeral may feature guards of honor, the firing of volley shots as a salute, drumming and other military elements, with a flag draping over the coffin.
Boris Yeltsin, the first President of Russia, died of cardiac arrest on 23 April 2007, twelve days after being admitted to the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow. Yeltsin was the first Russian head of state to be buried in a church ceremony since Emperor Alexander III, 113 years prior.
Operation London Bridge was the funeral plan for Queen Elizabeth II. The plan included the announcement of her death, the period of official mourning, and the details of her state funeral. The plan was created as early as the 1960s and revised many times in the years before her death in September 2022.
Thai funerals usually follow Buddhist funerary rites, with variations in practice depending on the culture of the region. People of certain religious and ethnic groups also have their own specific practices. Thai Buddhist funerals generally consist of a bathing ceremony shortly after death, daily chanting by Buddhist monks, and a cremation ceremony. Cremation is practised by most peoples throughout the country, with the major exceptions being ethnic Chinese, Muslims and Christians.
The royal cremation ceremony is the final and most major event during Thai royal funerals.
Lee Teng-hui, former president of the Republic of China, died of septic shock and multiple organ dysfunction at Taipei Veterans General Hospital on 30 July 2020.
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