DENVER (KDVR) — They’ve spent three decades carrying out a sacred duty at Fort Logan National Cemetery.
Volunteers from the All Veterans Honor Guard turn up daily to pay one last tribute to those who wore the uniform. On Monday, a team was on hand to render final military honors at the committal service for Mark Johnson, an Army veteran who served in the 101st Airborne Division.
“We’re assembled here today to provide the final honor for our departed comrade Mark Johnson. When the call of our country was heard, Mark answered that call,” said Maury Smith, commander of the All Veterans Honor Guard.
The service Monday was one of 25,000 services over the last 30 years carried out by the veterans group. In the early 1990s. When the US government discontinued the practice of providing final military honors for all veterans, a pair of local veterans launched All Veterans Honor Guard to step in and render the final honors.
“I started in ’01, and at the time we had five teams, and we were doing in the neighborhood of 650 (services) a year. And last year we did right at 1300. We went through the majority of World War II (veterans), most of Korea and a good hunk of Vietnam,” said Smith.
The volunteers provide opening remarks and readings, after which seven members of the team fire a three-round volley from World War II-era rifles. At the end of the service, the spent shell casings are presented to the family of the veteran who is being laid to rest.
“I’m a veteran. I served and I think it’s just very important to stand tall for those who stood tall for us during wartime and even in peacetime,” said Michael Gorin, a Coast Guard veteran who volunteers with the group.
For Richard Hogue, volunteering with the group is a way of giving back to heroes like those he served alongside more than 50 years ago.
“Went to Vietnam in 1969. Served over there for six months. I was wounded twice. First time was a minor shrapnel wound. The second time I thought they got me. I survived but lost my left leg. Multiple shrapnel injuries, but lost my left leg,” Hogue said.
He first learned about the All Veterans Honor Guard while visiting Fort Logan National Cemetery.
“I was out here for a funeral for a friend, and this team was serving. And I said, ‘Hey, you need some help?’ They said yes. And that was 22 years ago,” he said.
Hogue and the others do it on their own time at their own expense. Because if they weren’t out here remembering those who so bravely displayed duty and honor and sacrifice, there’s a good chance no one else would be.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
