Honoring the Honor Guard

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Military funerals are often the final memories that the veteran’s families will associate with their late relatives.

The members of the Honor Guard that conduct the graveside ceremonies often go unrecognized for their efforts but Veterans Appreciation Foundation President Wayne Clark talked about an annual banquet that praises the efforts of those volunteers.

“Every year, our Veterans Appreciation Foundation honors all the veterans who… men who… right now it’s all men who do veterans funerals. They’re honor guards. And those people, they don’t get a penny for that… It ties up most of their day to go do it and the time to get there, to set up and go and all of that. So we said we need to recognize those people and tell them thank you. So we about 6 years ago, we started putting together a banquet every May,” Clark said.

The Honor Guard Banquet is a private function that honors everyone who participates in creating and performing the military ceremonies. Clark noted there are more than 250 military funerals performed in Muskingum County every year and sometimes twice a day.

“A family who has a veteran funeral, ok,” Clark said. “The last thing they remember in their whole life is that: Taps, 21 gun salute and that folded flag. And that’s so vivid in their mind.”

Honor Guard memberships are not exclusive to veterans and anyone who is interested in taking the time to train and be on call can reach out to their local VFW or American Legion.