The Time-Honored Traditions of the Burial
Flag and Burial Flag Cases
An
American
flag draped over the casket at a military funeral is
a time-honored tradition that stretches back almost a full
century. It is a funeral honor to which all persons in our
country's military are entitled to, and serves as a national
mark of respect to the deceased and his/her family.
It
is customary for the flag to be handed to the bereaved at
the funeral. The flag is sometimes placed in a burial
flag case for this purpose. Burial flag cases
are then used to store the flag or a burial flag case can
be used to display the flag. Burial flag cases are available
with burial flag case wall mounting hardware to enable the
bereaved to create a permanent burial flag case memorial
for their loved ones.
The History of the Burial Flag and Burial
Flag Cases
The
American flag was first used as a burial flag in September
1912. Retired Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur Jr. -
one of this country's greatest ever military leaders - was
to give a speech at the 50th reunion of his military unit:
the 24th Wisconsin. He collapsed and died on stage during
his address.
It
is recorded that Edwin Parson's then took the battle scarred
American flag - the very same one that Lieutenant General
Arthur MacArthur Jr. fought so gallantly for almost 50 years
earlier - and wrapped it around MacArthur. From that day
forth, the American flag has always been used to honor those
who gave their life for their country.
Burial
flag cases in which to preserve the flag after the funeral
were introduced shortly after this event. Many families
use burial flag cases as a permanent reminder to the loved
ones they have lost.
The
burial flag case itself is robustly constructed of wood
and burial flag cases are often made in the USA. This makes
the burial flag case an ideal memorial, many families choosing
to hand down their burial flag cases to successive
generations as heirlooms.
Click
here to view our Burial Flag Cases
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