When my father was buried in '86 there was a Navy Honor Guard. I was in the Navy at the time and also in uniform. I gave my dad a proper salute.
Several years later aboard my destroyer, we were performing a burial at sea of ashes for a WWII veteran. We did not have an official Honor Guard aboard. I volunteered for the rifle squad as a way of paying it forward. Believe me when I say we all took it very seriously. As the shots rang out, it was a very profound moment of acceptance and closure for me.
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