Funeral Customs with Military Honors

Course overview

This course includes video clips from Master Staff Sergeant Scott Johnston, USAF. In these clips, he discusses many areas of military honors, including the history of military honors, ceremony etiquette, burial and memorialization, and other helpful information for funeral directors and families of veterans. In light of continuing world crises that involve U.S. armed forces, this course provides a timely discussion of how funeral directors and funeral personnel should organize, plan, and conduct a military funeral. The course addresses such important topics as the Military Funerals Honors Law; eligibility for military honors; the composition of a military funeral service; effectively orchestrating the proper positioning of military pallbearers, color guard, and clergy during a military service, and the proper timing of events; how to properly display a U.S. military burial flag on three types of caskets; how much the VA will reimburse for burial expenses; and how headstones and markers for a member of the military should be inscribed. If you are unfamiliar with the components of a military service or simply want a primer for military funeral arrangements, this course will provide you with the necessary information.