LATHAM, N.Y. - New York National Guard Army and Air Force Honor Guards provided military funeral honors at more than 8,700 graveside services in 2024.
There are 116 New York Army National Guard Soldiers who serve on eight regional Honor Guard detachments, and 80 New York Air Guard Airmen who serve on six base Honor Guards.
Since 2,000, National Guard members have been providing military funeral honors for the families of any former military member who was not dishonorably discharged from the service.
Federal Public Law 106-65, mandates that each funeral honor detail consist of at least two military personnel. This team is responsible for folding and presenting an American flag to the family and playing taps. Because talented buglers are not readily available, taps is normally played using a device inserted into the bell of a bugle.
The Army National Guard, as a community-based force, handles about 86 percent of all Army veteran funerals, according to the National Guard Bureau. The Air National Guard also provides funerals for former Air Force personnel.
Most funerals are the abbreviated service with two Honor Guard members. But veterans who have retired from the military or who have died on duty are entitled to a service that includes six personnel carrying a casket, a firing part, and a bugler.
Honor Guard Soldiers need to be physically fit to handle a casket and stand at attention or parade rest for long periods, said Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Luis Celeste, the operations sergeant for the funeral honors team. Team members conduct four or more funerals a day at widely spaced locations, so there is a lot of time spent driving from cemetery to cemetery, said Pfc. Suleyma Sanchez, a member of the 369th Sustainment Brigade.
Celeste said the New York Army National Guard Honor Guard’s 29 vehicles were driven 390,017 miles in 2024.
While the job is demanding, it is also very rewarding, Sanchez said.
“It is an honor for us to be there,” Sanchez said.
The Air National Guard Honor Guards are base honor guards and operate from the New York Air National Guard’s five airbases on Long Island, in the Hudson Valley, in Syracuse and outside Schenectady.
The 107th Attack Wing is a tenant at Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station and its Air National Guard members serve alongside Air Force Reserve Airmen on that base honor guard.
Getting to remote upstate locations is a challenge for the Air Guard Honor Guards, said Air Guard Chief Master Sgt. James Jarmacz, who heads the 174th Attack Wing Honor Guard at Hancock Air National Base in Syracuse.
His Honor Guard covers an area that ranges from the Canadian border down to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and almost to Albany sometimes, he said. It’s normal to drive three hours one way to a funeral.