Honoring veterans

By JUSTIN HARMON/Staff

Every Veteran’s Day there are things you come to expect. There are old vets and new vets, speeches and honors.
Sometimes there’s laughing, other times tears. But without the flag, there’s no point in rallying. There’s centuries of tradition in every stitch and star and that weight has to be hoisted by someone.
And that’s when the Highlands Veterans Honor Guard marches, colors raised.
According to Dorlas Cook, the captain of Honor Guard, the group was formed in order to post the colors in the Highlands Fellowship Church. Since then, they’ve brought America’s flag to all corners of Washington County when called upon.
But there’s a side to the Honor Guard that few people get to see and even fewer want to experience.
“Our primary function is funerals,” said Bill Meade, a member of the Honor Guard.
Cook said they’ve been doing funerals since around 2002. When they first started, they didn’t have much to work with.
“Each member of the Honor Guard bought their own weapons,” he said. “We didn’t have anything.”
These weapons, shotguns according to Cook, weren’t meant to draw blood, but to give veterans who passed the full honors they deserve, including an armed Honor Guard ready to send them off with a 21-gun salute.
Meade said they also didn’t have the people to do a proper single branch honor guard. Typically, a fallen Army veteran would be sent off with an honor guard made up of other Army veterans.
But neither Cook nor Meade saw that as a handicap for their group.
“Each member wears the uniform of the service we served in and that’s the way we wanted to do it,” he said.
These days, the Honor Guard has come a long way. They’ve now got standard issue M1 rifles to carry, but they still have to buy their own uniforms with the exception of their hats and belts.
Since 2001 when the Honor Guard formed, Cook said they’ve done 503 funerals. The funerals tend to last up to three hours, more if they have to travel or have problems with their gear. That’s thousands of hours away from their families and lives. And there’s always more to do. But the colors have to fly.
“I’ve been working with them for five years now and I’ve got to say they’re total perfection,” said Jack Frost, head of Frost Funeral Home in Abingdon. “It’s all volunteer work… they never charge a thing. They take away from their families to serve other families just like they served their country.”
Even though they’ve been running strong and continue to do so, Meade said they still have their problems. The primary one being the fight against time.
“Age is a big thing,” said Meade. “Our average age is around the mid-60’s. We’ve tried our best to recruit younger veterans, but when you first get out, your main concerns are usually family and finding a job.”
The weather also presents a problem for the aging Honor Guard. The cold nips at their skin and penetrates into their bones, wearing them down fairly quickly. But you’ll never see them complain or opt out.
“We’ve never turned a funeral down on account of the weather,” he said. “If they have one in the rain, snow or sleet, we’ll be there. As the old saying goes, ‘come Hell or high water’.”
As the guns are fired and the flag is folded and handed to the family, the calm veneer the Honor Guard gives off belies the bubbling in their hearts.
“There’s no way to not get emotional,” said Meade. “I’ve gotten emotionally involved in every single (funeral). In my case, I try to present it without getting to where I can’t talk.”
“You get worried your emotions won’t let you say what you’ve got to say,” added Cook.
But still they push on.
“You have to give respect,” said Cook.
“If we didn’t do it, it wouldn’t get done. The veterans wouldn’t get their due honors,” said Meade.
According to Meade, they may not be as good as what you would get at Arlington National Cemetery, but there are those who would disagree.
“These guys practice all the time. If you didn’t know they were local you’d think they were from somewhere like Camp Lejeune,” said Frost. “When I think about it, they can’t get any better.”
And as the Honor Guard stands, with the colors flapping and their rifles as straight and tall as the men themselves, it only gets harder.
“We have to honor our fallen brothers, but it’s something you can’t enjoy,” said Meade.
“But it’s a privilege to do it,” said Cook.
Justin Harmon can be reached at 276-628-7101 or jharmon@wythenews.com