Military Funeral Program Template

What the honors include by law

Federal law entitles eligible veterans to military funeral honors, provided by the Department of Defense at the family's request and at no cost. Eligibility generally covers veterans discharged under conditions other than dishonorable, members who die on active duty, and members of the Selected Reserve. The funeral director can confirm eligibility for your veteran.

The honors ceremony required by law is specific and brief. It is a floor, not a ceiling. Some services add more when resources allow, and veterans service organizations often assist.

The core honors

• A detail of at least two uniformed service members, at least one from the veteran's own branch
• The folding of the United States burial flag
• The presentation of the flag to the next of kin
• The sounding of Taps, by a live bugler when one is available, otherwise by a ceremonial recording

Where the honors sit in the service

Honors are almost always rendered at the committal, at the graveside or at the cemetery shelter, after the religious portion of the committal concludes. The honor guard takes over quietly, the flag is lifted from the casket and folded, Taps is sounded, and the folded flag is presented. When a rifle volley is included, it typically comes before Taps. The exact sequence can vary slightly by detail team, so let the funeral director confirm it rather than printing an order the team will not follow.

In the program, most families print the honors as their own block at the end of the order of service. Something like this. Committal at Restland Cemetery. Military Funeral Honors, United States Army. Folding and Presentation of the Flag. Taps. If honors will happen at a location different from the main service, say so plainly, so guests who wish to be present can follow.

Helping guests understand what they see

A few printed lines turn the honors from something guests watch into something they understand. Consider a short panel titled About the Honors, with two or three sentences on each element.

For the flag presentation, you may print the words the service member speaks as the flag is given to the next of kin. The standard wording is, On behalf of the President of the United States, the United States Army, and a grateful Nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's honorable and faithful service. The branch named matches the veteran's branch. For Taps, one sentence is enough. Taps is the bugle call sounded at military funerals, a final salute at the end of the day.

Many families ask about the thirteen folds. Here is the honest answer. The burial flag is folded thirteen times into the shape of a tricorn hat, and that fold is official ceremony. The recited meanings sometimes attached to each fold come from a popular tradition, not from military regulation, and the meanings vary from one telling to another. If your family loves the tradition, you may print a version of it as a remembrance, but it is truthful to label it a customary reflection rather than an official part of the ceremony.

Requesting honors and the DD Form 214

You do not contact the military yourself. The funeral director requests honors on the family's behalf, and this is routine work for them. What they need from you is proof of service, almost always the veteran's DD Form 214, the discharge document issued at separation.

If you cannot find the DD 214, tell the funeral director right away. Copies can be requested from the National Archives, and funeral directors know the expedited channels for burials. Give the director the veteran's full name, branch, and dates of service as early as you can, because the honors detail is scheduled against the committal time. Veterans service organizations such as the American Legion or VFW sometimes supplement the detail with a rifle volley or pallbearers, and the funeral director can ask about that too.

One related matter is separate from honors, and the program can leave it alone. Government headstones, markers, and medallions for veterans come from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the emblem of belief inscribed on them is chosen by the family from the VA's approved list through the VA's own application, typically handled with the funeral director or cemetery after the funeral. If the burial is in a national or state veterans cemetery, a line naming the cemetery is all the program needs. The VA paperwork can wait for a calmer week.

Confirm the final order with your officiant and funeral director

A military honors service has two schedules woven together, the religious service led by your clergy or celebrant and the honors rendered by the detail. The funeral director stands between them and coordinates both.

Before you print, ask the funeral director to confirm the honors sequence and timing, and ask your pastor, priest, rabbi, or celebrant to confirm the order of the service itself. Ten minutes with each, and the program will match the day exactly, which is what every guest holding it deserves.