How To Plan an Honorable Discharge Military Funeral

The men and women who defended our freedom deserve dignified recognition for their service and sacrifice. Families may request military funeral honors if the deceased was discharged under honorable conditions. As with any funeral, a military funeral demands much preparation. It involves arranging a funeral guard, scheduling the burial, and other special considerations. Here are some tips on making things easy when planning an honorable discharge military funeral.

Informing the Funeral Director

You first need to inform the funeral director and cemetery personnel that the deceased served in the U.S Armed Forces and received an honorable discharge. It’s important to note that you must explicitly request military funeral honors for your loved one, even if their military service was included in their obituary information. Ensure that you inform the funeral director or cemetery staff at least 48 hours before to have enough time to contact the relevant branch of military service and make arrangements for the funeral honors.

What To Do in the Absence of a Funeral Director or Cemetery Staff

It is possible to personally make arrangements for military funeral honors without involving a funeral director or cemetery staff. For instance, your family might have cremated remains of your loved one. You might later decide to bury the remains in a cemetery. It could be a privately operated cemetery or one maintained by the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration.

In such a situation, you can visit the Department of Defense Military Funeral Honors website. On the website, click on the Military Service Coordinator tab. You’ll see a list of various military branches. Select the relevant one, then call the displayed phone number for further assistance. Alternatively, you can find a local post of a veterans service organization and get help contacting the appropriate person.

What Happens After the Funeral?

Losing a loved one is difficult for everyone – especially for the immediate family. It would be a good thing to consider bereavement counseling to help with the healing process. The good news is that the Department of Veterans Affairs offers free grief counseling to family members of deceased veterans.

Several other nonprofit organizations offer counseling besides the Department of Veterans Affairs. Here, you can receive therapy even if you are not an immediate family member of a deceased veteran.

Plan a Perfect Honorable Discharge Military Funeral

All veterans require dignified recognition of the service and sacrifice. Families may request military funeral honors for their loved ones. Moreover, with the information above, you can easily navigate the planning stage and focus on remembering your loved one’s life and service. It would also help to ask for help from other people who knew the deceased. They might have valuable input on how the loved one would like to be remembered.

Working with a funeral home with experience arranging military funerals is also essential. They can walk you through all arrangements while staying within budget.

Would you like to learn more about how we can help you through this challenging time? Contact us today or visit our funeral home for more information.   

Categorised in: Veteran Funerals

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