Ranks of color guards aging

When you see color guards at military funerals or at some of the Memorial Day observances this weekend, chances are they will be comprised of older gentlemen. Our classmate Bonita Gilbertson worries about this, and hopes more people of our generation will step up to fill the ranks of these important color guards.

Here are her thoughts, below is a link to some photos. We can't show the pictures here because Kodak doesn't seem to allow downloads from their site. But just click on the link and you'll see five pictures of Bonita and family members.

Hi Stan,
Happy spring to you and yours.
I wanted to share an experience that I had when I took my Dad and sister to the Fort Snelling Cemetery in Bloomington. Both my Mom and brother Rick are buried there, thus the visit.
Going to the cemetery was fine but it was SO windy. Wow. Hang on to your BVDs windy. We weren't there for hours or anything but we might have stayed longer had the wind not been blowing so hard. The wind aside, it was a pretty time of the year to go. The trees were flowering, fresh new leaves on the trees and bushes and the grass was bright green. Very nice.
There were a couple of graveside services going on while we were there. A van/mini bus type vehicle pulled up and about eight elderly men got out. They were all in military uniforms and carried rifles. They lined up and stood at attention. One gave the orders and they raised their rifles for a gun salute and fired their rifles three times. It was very touching. After the ceremony, they presented a flag to a family member. It was such a nice ceremony that I actually got tears in my eyes.
Unfortunately, I read somewhere that the ritual might be lost as the vets who are doing it are dying out and no one is stepping forward to replace them. What a shame that would be. I guess that there are so few of them available to participate that they sometimes have four or more funerals A DAY! Poor guys. I thought of my Dad at almost 88 (or your Dads if they are/were still with us), doing this at their ages. Just getting in and out of the vehicle was a job for them.
I'm so glad I got to see it. I hope that more Korea, Vietnam and etc. veterans will step forward. Again, I had heard that the tradition might die out and how unfortunate that it will be if that happens.
Bonita, the Sentimental Fool
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=17j7xksz.alg25f97&x=0&h=1&y=-jb5zxq&localeid=en_US

Here's more on the topic that the trailboss dug up:

The following article appeared in the July/August 2004 issue of VAnguard.
By Orin Hatton

Tuesday, Friday, Thursday, Wednesday, Monday. That’s the order in which the squads were formed, one for each day, as new members were recruited to fill the ranks of the Memorial Rifle Squad at Ft. Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis.
On June 19, 1979, the Tuesday Squad conducted its first three funerals. Since then, members of the Memorial Rifle Squad have participated in nearly 42,000 services for veterans at Ft. Snelling. And their record is impeccable—the Rifle Squad has never missed a scheduled funeral despite Minnesota’s bone-chilling winter temperatures that dip to 25 degrees below zero and boast wind chills nearly double that.
There were six members on the Squad that first Tuesday in 1979, including George Weiss, who at 50 years old was the youngest member at the time. Today the ages range from 26 to 87 and the average is a spry 71.6. With a squad for each day of the week, the Memorial Rifle Squad is able to provide honors for up to 17 services a day. The Squad presents a rifle volley for each veteran, and every squad includes a bugler who plays taps.
On June 19, 2004, Weiss was on hand for a banquet commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Memorial Rifle Squad at The Prom Center in Oakdale, Minn. An audience of 350 crowded the banquet hall, including 100 active and 30 inactive members of the Squad. Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Jack Nicholson presented the Secretary’s Award to Weiss in recognition of the Rifle Squad’s 25 years of dedicated service to the nation’s veterans. The state of Minnesota acknowledged the Rifle Squad’s accomplishments as Alberto Quintela, deputy secretary of state, read a proclamation from the governor.
Bob McCollum, cemetery director at Ft. Snelling, says he has never met a more dedicated group in his 22 years at VA. “What they do for our nation’s heroes, day in and day out, it doesn't get any better. It’s an honor to work in the same facility with them.”
The Memorial Rifle Squad at Fort Snelling is the first and largest all-volunteer group of its kind within VA’s 120 national cemeteries. Every branch of the military is represented.
“There’s a little competition among the squads about who’s the best,” said Weiss. “We joke back and forth. But when we step out of the bus, we are in radio contact with the lead car. There is no talking in ranks and no horseplay.”
Weiss says the Squad performs its duties “with honor, pride and integrity.” Nicholson says he’d like to see this spirit and voluntarism spread to all national cemeteries.
Two of the youngest members of the Squad are reservists serving in Kosovo. “They come out once a week when they are in town,” says Weiss, “so we figure we’ll be around at least another 25 years.”