Honoring Those Who Honor: Memorial Rifle Squad, Fort Snelling National Cemetery

Since 1979, the Fort Snelling Memorial Rifle Squad, an all-volunteer group, has been present at more than 74,000 funerals at Fort Snelling National Cemetery to offer a final tribute for military veterans at the request of their families. This honor guard consists of three rifle volleys, the solemn sound of taps, and the folding and presentation of the American flag to a surviving family member. The Rifle Squad has given the final tribute in this manner as many as 17 times each day, week after week, year after year, in stifling heat and humidity and in bone-chilling cold and wind. Its volunteers have demonstrated tirelessly that service to country does not end with the culmination of active duty. It seems only fitting that these dedicated men and women are now honored themselves in the pages of this book.