Military Funeral with Full Honors at Arlington National Cemetery

[JimAskew]

Last Wednesday I photographed an honors military funeral at Arlington National Cemetery at the request of the widow.

At an honors funeral the service member is brought to the grave site on a horse drawn cassion, the procession is followed by a riderless horse with boots reversed in the stirrups, receives a 21 gun salute, taps is played, and then the widow is presented with the folded flag that covered the casket.

Here are photos of the cassion and the riderless horse.

C&C are welcome. These were made at 3PM, no clouds, and high 90's. I used my 70-200MM f/4 EF L IS on on 30D and my 17-55MM EF-S IS on my dRebel XT...thanks,

[JimAskew]

Here are two more photos.

The Firing Party giving the 21 gun salute...three volleys by the seven riflemen.

The bugler playing taps.

[Alex_H]

May he rest in peace.

[cbass]

Moving photos, thanks for sharing. Our military men and women deserve all the honor we give them plus more.

[shannyD]

that broke my heart. my hubby deployed sevearl times, and that deployment is the most stressful time of any wives life. you never know if that next phone call will be the last one, or any letter or email you get will be the last one. thank you for posting that. and thank you to all that support our troops.
shannon

[Miyagi-san]

RIP, brother...

[JimAskew]

that broke my heart. my hubby deployed sevearl times, and that deployment is the most stressful time of any wives life. you never know if that next phone call will be the last one, or any letter or email you get will be the last one. thank you for posting that. and thank you to all that support our troops.
shannon

Shanny,

You are welcome...

If you like Marines then check out my post in the Wedding Forum...link is below:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=342551

Please do not reply to this wedding post...it has "run its course" with great feedback :)

Enjoy,

[JimAskew]

All,

Thanks for the kind comments...with the war in Iraq, the WWII vets, and the Koren vets ANC is averaging 26 funerals a day. The full honors ceremony is a very moving event. America treats her fallen heros with dignity and style.

[Navydave1974]

Thanks for posting your pictures! I spent a day at the Cemetary taking pictures one day and even though being in the military for 12.5yrs (which can make you insensitive, or should I say take things for granted) it still gave me the goose bumps and proud to be in the Navy and serving as all of the fallen had.

[kenyc]

Excellent captures, particularly the first and last ones.

KAC

[JimAskew]

Thanks for posting your pictures! I spent a day at the Cemetary taking pictures one day and even though being in the military for 12.5yrs (which can make you insensitive, or should I say take things for granted) it still gave me the goose bumps and proud to be in the Navy and serving as all of the fallen had.

Excellent captures, particularly the first and last ones.

KAC

Dave and Kenny,

Thanks...it is a beautiful place...so filled with history...

Dave, thank you for your service to our great Country.

[airfrogusmc]

I just saw this. Great series. A portrait of fallen hero. Anyone that has made the ultimate sacrifice serving our country is a hero and thanks for posting those images.

[Desertraptor]

Very moving shots even.

[Mstar]

Very moving series, well taken. I am sure the widow would be proud to keep these final memories of her fallen hero. Rip

[JimAskew]

I just saw this. Great series. A portrait of fallen hero. Anyone that has made the ultimate sacrifice serving our country is a hero and thanks for posting those images.

Very moving shots even.

Very moving series, well taken. I am sure the widow would be proud to keep these final memories of her fallen hero. Rip

Thanks everyone for the comments.

[hawk911]

I respect what you did for the family, but were you limited to where you could move? The traditional shots I'd expect of the Bugler playing taps and the riflemen seem off to me; there should be more profile, rather than frontal perspective.

[LeesaB]

the black horse..boots on backwards...stunning..

Graceful shots...

[3Honu]

The bugler is my favorite.

[forno]

I wnt say they are a nice series of pics as it is th wrong word for the occasion, I will say you did a great job!

I was on google earth looking at Arlington cemetery and I was astounded at the number of headstones and the size of the place

Mankind is so unkind

[T.Hogan]

The end of the song should be changed to "For the land of the free, BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE." Our freedom is due to the brave men and women of our armed forces. Freedom is most important, when you are not free. My thanks will never be enough, for those whom have given there all.

[jdizzle]

Great shots Jim! Must have been a real sad moment. You captured it so well here.

[John Michael]

ANC is over 600 acres... not all of those resting there are casualties of war rather than an honorable place for those who have kept the US and the rest of the Free World FREE. If you'd want to see the ones who perished in WW II ... they are primarily at 24 cemeteries outside the US ----

http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/index.php

[zippy25]

Very touching series. #1 and #4 are my favorite. THose two really capturethe moment. Thanks for sharing.

[nufan]

I really like the last shot

[BottomBracket]

Jim, I just saw this. Excellent captures of a solemn moment. It brings back memories, last year I covered the funeral of my uncle at the ANC too. Thanks for sharing. And thanks too to all those who served, laid down their lives for the country, and to those currently serving. Much appreciated.

[canonloader]

Funerals are for the living. As much as we honour our fallen, I'd prefer we honoured our not fallen or only tripped a little bit soldiers half as much.

I hope you PP'd those shots some though, they definately need some saturation or channels work. They look a little flat. :)

[JimAskew]

All,

Thanks for the feedback and comments. I delivered the final album to the widow this morning. Forty 5x7's mounted in a black leather binder. I used matte paper and was pleased with the final results. The widow was very happy with the book and I hope it gives her peace and comfort in the future.

I will say again, America does care for her fallen military...both those who die in combat and those who who served a full career and whose time has run its course.

[jolyn928]

You did a wonderful job capturing the reverence of the occasion. They were all very moving.

[MDJAK]

Awesome captures. The DOF of the stones and the bugler, what a moving shot.

The riderless horse is fantastic.

I'd like to go back there with you one day.

mark

[JimAskew]

Awesome captures. The DOF of the stones and the bugler, what a moving shot.

The riderless horse is fantastic.

I'd like to go back there with you one day.

mark

Mark,

Thank you. I would love to spend a day there with you and any other POTNers who would like to come. I know the operations officer at Arlington personally and we could schedule a meet on a day where there will be "full honors" funerals planned...we can photograph the ceremony as long as we don't intrude...70-200MM f/4 EF L IS for me.

[mdmedicgod]

When I shot a funneral at ANC we were not limited to where could shoot from. Your gut kinda tells you where not to be.

Also, on another ANC note. Not all ANC funnerals are the same.. In order to get the caison and riderless horse, you have to be a commisioned officer. If not a commissioned officers. You get the 21 guns, bugler, and thats about it...