The Army gave my Dad a five-gun salute before taking his ashes to bury. I thought I had shed all my tears of missing him, but I was wrong.
Many friends went to his funeral in Pittsburgh in 2009, but this was intimate, private, with family who weren't there.
A young man took my arm. He stood stiffly and looked into my eyes. "It would be my honor to escort you."
The Army chaplain read the service, which, while not Christian, was in line with the Deists who founded this country.
 |
| The flag is presented to oldest daughter in lieu of Mom |
 |
| Abi reads Psalm 23 from Dad's grandmother's Bible |
 |
| Michael & VV |
The riflemen were veterans my Dad's age, WWII. The young soldiers, pimple-faced babes all three, were serious and exact in unfolding the flag, and ritually folding it again, thirteen folds to honor the first 13 states. The chaplain told me afterwards that each fold of the flag (and I assume the taps and gestures) was significant and explained on a sheet of paper inserted into the folded presentation flag.
 |
| The geese march through the graves |
I gave the flag to my daughter Rebekah to keep for baby Sean. "You can tell him he was here."
"We'll put it in the keepsake box," she said.
The Army gave my Dad a five-gun salute before taking his ashes to bury. I thought I had shed all my tears of missing him, but I was wrong. 
The Army chaplain read the service, which, while not Christian, was in line with the Deists who founded this country.
"We'll put it in the keepsake box," she said.