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NY Army National Guard teams provide funeral honors for 6,800 families in 2024

By Eric Durr, New York National GuardDecember 27, 2024

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Casey Frankoski Funeral Service
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers assigned to the New York Army National Guard Honor Guard prepare to fold the American Flag over the casket of Chief Warrant Officer 2 Casey Frankosk at the Gerald B. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville, New York on March 22,204. Frankoski, a helicopter pilot, was killed in a March 8, 2024, outside Rio Grande City, Texas while patrolling the Southwest Border. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Stephanie Butler. (Photo Credit: Petty Officer 1st Class Stephanie Butler) VIEW ORIGINAL
NY Army National Guard Soldiers perform funeral honors for 100-year old veteran
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – New York Army National Guard Sgt. Carlos Garcia, left, and Spc. Samantha Bruce, perform military funeral honors at the burial of Wilfred “Spike” Mailloux, a 100-year old New York National Guard veteran of the World War II Battle of Saipan at St. Michael’s Cemetery in Waterford, New York on May 7, 2024. Mailloux survived the war’s largest Japanese banzai attack, which killed 502 Soldiers in the New York National Guard’s 105th Infantry Regiment on July 7, 1944. ( U.S. Army National Guard photo by Stephanie Butler) (Photo Credit: Petty Officer 1st Class Stephanie Butler) VIEW ORIGINAL

LATHAM, New York - The New York Army National Guard’s Honor Guard provided graveside military honors over 6,800 times in 2024.

The 116 New York Army National Guard Soldiers who serve on eight regional Honor Guard detachments provided the services.

Since 2,000, National Guard members have been providing military funeral honors for the families of any former military member who was not dishonorably discharged from the service.

Federal Public Law 106-65 mandates that each funeral honor detail consist of at least two military personnel. This team is responsible for folding and presenting a U.S. flag to the family and playing taps.

Because talented buglers are not readily available, taps is normally played using a device inserted into the bell of a bugle.

The Army National Guard, as a community-based force, handles about 86 percent of all Army veteran funerals, according to the National Guard Bureau. The Air National Guard also provides funerals for former Air Force personnel.

Most funerals are the abbreviated service with two Honor Guard members. But veterans who have retired from the military or who have died on duty are entitled to a service that includes six personnel carrying a casket, a firing part, and a bugler.

Soldiers who serve on the Honor Guard mission need to be physically fit, said Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Luis Celeste, the operations sergeant for the funeral honors team.

The Soldiers have to be able to handle a casket and stand at attention or parade rest for long periods. Celeste said a team must be ready to conduct four or more funerals a day at widely spaced locations.

Much of the time is spent driving from cemetery to cemetery, said Pfc. Suleyma Sanchez, a member of the 369th Sustainment Brigade, who has been on the detail for a year.

The New York Army National Guard Honor Guard’s 29 vehicles were driven 390,017 miles in 2024, Celeste said.

The New York Army National Guard is budgeted $1.5 million to cover costs, including the salaries of 30 Soldiers who perform Honor Guard duties full time and 85 Soldiers who volunteer part time.

While the job is demanding, it is also gratifying, Sanchez said.

“It is an honor for us to be there,” Sanchez said.

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