My Uncle Bob was killed in a tragic hit and run accident. My Mother was VERY close to him, and spoke to him almost daily. Therefore the kids, mainly Aubrie and Sophia, spoke to him often, also. He was often misunderstood by many, but he had a great heart who loved the Lord and wasn't ashamed at expressing that. He also LOVED children and would spend a lot of time talking on the phone to Sophia and Aubrie, singing songs, quoting scriptures, etc. Aubrie LOVED talking to him, and Sophia missed when she couldn't. We thrilled when we found out he would be buried at the Veterans Cemetery here in Arizona, and could attend his funeral. Also, I knew it would be of great comfort to my Mom to be able to visit and attend to his graveside. She has already visited it several times, and makes sure it always has flowers.
Bobs funeral was the first military funeral I have ever attended. It was so respectful. They did the three rifle volley, not to be confused with the 21 gun salute. I looked up why they did this and this is what I found.
Anyone who is entitled to a military funeral (generally anyone who dies on active duty, honorably discharged veterans, and military retirees) are entitled to the three rifle volleys, subject to availability of honor guard teams. This is not a 21-gun salute, nor any other type of "gun salute." They are simply three rifle volleys fired. The firing team can consist of any number, but one usually sees a team of eight, with a noncommissioned officer in charge of the firing detail. Whether the team consists of three or eight, or ten, each member fires three times (three volleys).
The three volleys comes from an old battlefield custom. The two warring sides would cease hostilities to clear their dead from the battlefield, and the firing of three volleys meant that the dead had been properly cared for and the side was ready to resume the battle.The flag detail often slips three shell-casings into the folded flag before presenting the flag to the family. Each casing represents one volley.
After the three volleys, they played the bugle. That's when I started crying, along with everyone else. They then presented my Mother with the flag and the shell-casings. I was impressed with how the children behaved. There wasn't a peep from any of them. After the military officers left, my Mom spoke for a bit, and then we sang his favorite song. Afterward, Ethan started hugging my Mom and crying. It was so tender. He has such a soft heart.
After the ceremony we came home and spent time with family and enjoyed lunch brought by the Relief Society.
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