Military rites

A lone bugler plays Taps during a military funeral held at Arlington National Cemetery for former U.S. Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger.
The Unknown Soldier from World War I arriving at the Washington Navy Yard, circa 1921 (colorized)

Military rites are honors presented at a funeral for a member of a military or police force. These rites, which are performed (usually) at the burial, include the firing of rifles, presenting of a flag and or bugle calls. In Australia and New Zealand a Poppy Service is often held for members of the Armed Forces. This includes a short reading by a member of the Returned Services League (the Returned Services Association in New Zealand), the laying of red poppies on the coffin by all present, the playing of the Last Post (or Taps in the United States and Reveille and recitation of the Ode of Remembrance.

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/20/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.