Q: Is there guidance on military honors (honor guard, folding the U.S. flag, taps, and presentation of the flag to the family) especially if the interment will be delayed and the family is requesting it following Mass?
Many thanks!
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A: I treated military honors briefly in my book Light in the Darkness. The Order of Christian Funerals is not clear. In general, the military honors fittingly immediately follow the service at the cemetery, but if interment is delayed, they could be done after Mass. It’s probably more appropriate to conduct these outside the church proper so that the honors can be given due attention. But we don’t have a rule.