Any eligible veteran who requests a military burial is guaranteed by law to receive certain honors at their funeral. The Department of Defense is required to provide these services at no cost to the veteran’s family.
The honors they receive at their funeral, however, depend on the veteran’s service, but will always have certain baseline elements, which include at least two honor guard members. Depending on their military achievements, the funeral can range from a simple, understated ceremony to something akin to the opening act of a Super Bowl.
For veterans to get military honors at their burial, the family should request honors as early as possible; at least 48–72 hours’ notice is recommended. This can be coordinated through a veteran’s funeral director.
Any veteran’s funeral will, at the very least, have a two-person honor guard, who will play “Taps” as well as fold and present the American flag to the veteran’s family. The Department of Defense will go out of its way to provide a real bugler, but in some cases, exceptions have to be made for a recording.
Sometimes, a ceremonial bugle will be used, where the song comes from a speaker in the bell of the bugle, but the song isn’t actually being played live.
The honor guard will then fold the flag draped on the casket and present it to the family. If the veteran is cremated, the folding ceremony varies slightly, but is still presented to the next of kin. Burial flags are provided free of charge, but must be coordinated through a funeral director or VA office after completing the required form.
Every veteran interred at Arlington National Cemetery will have a six to eight-person pallbearer team, a firing party, a bugler, and the folding and presentation of the flag.
For members of the Coast Guard and the Navy, families can request a burial at sea. Families are responsible for transporting the remains to the port of embarkation and must know that the burial will take place during a routine deployment. It’s unlikely that the family will be able to be present at a burial at sea.
Some veterans are eligible to receive military honors with escort, also known as “full” military honors. The benefits that eligible veterans receive with full military honors also vary by availability and service.
According to Arlington National Cemetery, military honors with escort are available to any veteran who reached the ranks of E-9, CW-4, CW-5, or O-4 and above. Medal of Honor recipients, former prisoners of war, and those killed in action–of any rank–are also afforded “full” military honors.
Those receiving military honors with escort are provided with the standard military honors: the flag ceremony, playing of “Taps,” and an honor guard. They can also receive a marching escort of various sizes (dependent on rank), a firing party for a three-volley salute, a military band, and a military team of pallbearers.
If the veteran is being interred at Arlington, they are eligible to be driven to the gravesite by the cemetery’s caisson, a wagon driven by a team of six horses.
General officers who served in the Army or Marine Corps can get full military honors that include a riderless horse and a cannon salute, with the number of cannons dependent on the general’s rank. Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps officers of 0-7 and above are offered minute guns for their salute.
Families can also request a military flyover if the assets are available at the location of the funeral and the weather permits.
