Fwd: Military Funeral Protocol
Dick Shipp
From: ate: Fri, 16 Sep 2011 09:26:18 -0400
Subject: Military Funeral Protocol
To:
>
>> MILITARY FUNERAL PROTOCOL
>>
>>I couldn't find anything on Snopes or Truth or Fiction sites to confirm this so I called the gentleman listed at the end of the note. He confirmed the authenticity of the letter and the incident. He was outraged at this change of wording by El Presidente.
>>
>>This was received from a friend of mine!!!
>>
>>This is a letter that my good friend's husband wrote today after his uncle's funeral yesterday.
>>If Obama does not want his name associated with our military, too bad he wanted
his name associated with "The President of the United States."
>>
>>Alice Frankovitch
>>
>>Dear Sean,
>>
>>Today I was incensed at the conclusion of a traditional Serbian-Orthodox funeral for my beloved 85 year
old uncle, Daniel Martich, who proudly served in the US Army during
The Korean Conflict. During the committal service at a Pittsburgh
cemetery the local military detachment performed their ritual, then
folded and presented the American Flag to my aunt. As I'm sure you
have witnessed during military funerals, a soldier bends to one knee
and recites a scripted message to a surviving relative that begins 'On
behalf of the President of the United States and a grateful nation, I
wish to present you with this flag in appreciation for your husband's
service ...'.
However, today the dialogue was 'On behalf of the Secretary of Defense
and a grateful nation ...'
After the service I approached the soldier who presented the flag to
my aunt to inquire about the change in language. His response was "The
White House notified all military funeral service detachments to
immediately remove 'the President' and insert 'the Secretary of
Defense'. I couldn't believe what I heard and the soldier smiled and
said "You can draw your own conclusion sir but that was the order".
He, too, was ashamed of what he was required to say.
>>
>>This president has taken off the gloves. My only response to this endless cesspool of Anti-American rhetoric dripping from his mouth is to borrow a phrase (with one minor change) uttered by another temporary Washington resident living in government housing: "Today for the first time in my adult life I was ASHAMED of my country". I did not serve in the military but my love of country parallels that of people like my late uncle who bled Red, White and Blue. As a second generation Serbian-American who's heritage produced many patriotic military men and women who fought for freedom both in The United States as well as in the former Yugoslavia (most recently in Kosovo against the slaughter of Serbs by Muslim extremists) I implore you to make the American people aware of this little-known or, at least, publicly acknowledged fact.
>>
>>May God Bless you and your family during these difficult times. Your voice of reason is a welcome change from the insanity plastered across the country by the liberal media. Keep up the great work and thank you for your service to our country.
>>
>>Sincerely,
>>
>>John G. Martich
>>Weirton,
WV
>>
>>(304) 374-3518
>>(304) 723-5414
>>