A Veterans Day salute to local Honor Guard

As family members gathered around the casket, one man barked an order and the vets snapped to attention. The colors were raised, then the riflemen quickly fired a volley of three shots. As the last sharp blast receded, the bugler, standing amidst a sea of white headstones, blew taps, the poignant and mournful bugle call. An American flag was presented to the family, then the squad filed away, climbed into two buses, and drove to another site, where they would repeat the ceremony to honor another veteran.

The men are members of the Memorial Rifle Squad, the nation’s first all-volunteer squad in the National Cemetery Administration. Founded in 1979, the squad is headquartered at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, where it performs military honors for as many as 15 deceased veterans each weekday.

“There are about 210,000 veterans buried here, and the Memorial Rifle Squad has performed at over 90,000 ceremonies,” said Squad Commander Dick Middleton. ‘There are five squads, and each squad has approximately 22 people.”

Squad members are assigned a daily shift, 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. year-round, in all types of weather, from extreme heat to bitter cold – snow, rain or shine. They don’t get special recognition and they don’t get paid. They do it simply because they believe every veteran deserves this final recognition for their service to our country. Many of the members also perform funeral honors in their home cities as members of their respective veteran organization.

The Military Funeral Honors service is free to any veteran who died while on active duty or had been honorably discharged. It is managed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and administered with the help of Veteran’s Service Organizations. The military provides ammunition for the rifle squad but that’s it. Squad members pay for their own uniforms and travel expenses. Some drive as far as 65 miles to get to the cemetery.

“We operate on donations,” said Middleton. “The buses were donated by the Memorial Rifle Squad but have since become assets of the cemetery.”

With most of the squad members in their seventies, one might wonder how long they will stay with it and who will succeed them. To be a member of the squad, one must belong to the VFW or American Legion, and squad members say it’s been increasingly hard to find new members for those organizations. In recent years, many posts have closed or consolidated, including South St. Paul’s VFW Gallagher-Hansen Post 295, which in 2024 consolidated with Hastings Post 1210.

“I think we come in waves,” said Squad Leader Dan Fisher, who was born and raised in St. Paul. “We had World War II [vets], Korea, Vietnam, and now Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of the new people [in vet clubs] are working yet. It’s when they retire and get the free time is what makes the numbers go up – but they have to see us first. When they see us, then they want to join us.”

That’s how Brian Brazier, one of the squad’s newest members, came to join. He was so moved by the military honors ceremony he witnessed at his father-in-law’s funeral that he decided to join the squad after he retired.

Squad members are reverent while performing their duty during the ceremony but when they climb on the bus the mood changes considerably. This day there was bantering about the differences between the branches of the Armed Forces and a playful ribbing of which side of the Mississippi River is better. Most of all a deep camaraderie is found among the men who decades ago put on a uniform to serve their country and have found a way to continue serving it today.

Assistant Squad Leader Rick Zech, also a St. Paul native, was quick to point out the caliber of person who joins the squad.
“There are a lot of heroes out here who won’t tell you [brag about] what they’ve done. We have a lot of Purple Heart [recipients],” he said.

The squad’s slogan is “We are the land of the free because of the brave.” Its members are among the brave but also the compassionate, who generously give their time to ensure the memory and sacrifice of others live on.

To inquire about joining the Memorial Rifle Squad or to make a donation, visit memorialriflesquad.org.

This year is a milestone for three branches of the Armed Forces. The U.S. Army and Navy each celebrated their 250-year anniversary, and the Marine Corps turns 250 on November 10. The Air Force was founded in 1947 and the Coast Guard in 1915.

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