Rite
Commander: I am honored to be a member of the Indy Metropolitan Honor Guard which represents all branches of the United States Military. (Recognize members of assisting branch) We are assembled here to pay a lasting tribute of respect to our departed brother/sister. When the call of our country was heard, “FIRST NAME” answered; self was forgotten in the cause of the greater good. As a brave man/woman he/she marched away with the abiding faith in his/her God, his/her Country, and his/her Flag.
- The Red of our country's flag was made redder by his/her heroism;
- The White more stainlessly pure by the motives which inspired him/her
- and in the starry field of our nation's glorious banner, the Blue has been Glorified by the service he/she has given for American ideals.
Will you bow your heads as our Chaplain invokes God's divine blessing.
Chaplain: O’ God, Father of us all, we here extend these final earthly tributes to our beloved brother/sister. Accept our prayers on behalf of the soul of Your departed servant. Welcome him/her into Your House to rest in peace. Look with mercy upon the loved ones saddened by his/her passing. Comfort and console them through your tenderness. These things we humbly ask in Your Name. Amen
Commander: One by one, as the years pass by, we are called upon to fulfill these sad duties of respect to our departed brothers and sisters.
The present, full of the cares that concern all nations, whether engaged in war or peace, will fade away as we look back on the day this brother/sister left his home to defend his country.
Motivated by a spirit of devotion and inspired by an undying love for his/her native land, he/she gladly went forth and joined with other brothers and sisters, both young and old, to preserve our heritage of freedom.
We trust that the example set by this brother/sister will prove to be a glorious example to the youth of our country, who may be called upon to uphold the honor of our flag.
As the years roll on, we too will have finished our fight; and will be laid to rest, and our souls follow that long column to the realms above. Let us so live that when the Keeper of the Eternal Records shall have called our name for the last time, those we leave behind may say of us, as we say now of this brother/sister, he/she was indeed a true hearted comrade and a fearless defender of his/her Country and his/her Flag
CHAPLAIN: The march of our brother/sister is over and as he/she lays down in the House appointed for all the living, we are reminded of the frailty of human life, and the tenure by which we hold our own life. In such an hour the final summons may come which no one disobeys.
It seems fitting that we should leave our brother/sister to rest under the arching sky, looking toward the heavens for that eternal peace and solitude!
May each of us when our voyages are over, our battles of life complete, and our missions are ended, find a welcome in that region of the blessed where there are no more storm tossed seas, no scorching battlefields, or dangerous skies.
Our brother/sister is in the hands of our Heavenly Father and “God gives him/her beloved sleep”
He/she will be laid to rest, but let us cherish his/her virtues and learn to imitate them reminded by the place he/she fills no more.
Let each on be so loyal to every virtue, so true to every friendship, and so faithful in the remaining march that we will be ready to fall out and take our place in the great review to come. Not in doubt but with faith, that the merciful Captain of our Salvation will call us to that fellowship which on earth and in Heaven remain unbroken.
Commander: As a final tribute to our fallen brother/sister the firing squad will now fire three volleys, followed by Taps and the presentation of our Country’s flag. (Welcome all veterans to join us by rendering a hand salute during the playing of Taps)
We also have a Universal Rite which can be viewed here.
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