A Nugget from New Life Network
Scripture for the Day (December 16, 2015)
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. (Psalm 116:15)
We just returned home from the funeral of Charles F. Smith III, the husband of Cheryl’s younger sister Marsha. The funeral service was held in Panama City, FL where they live. The graveside service and military burial was held the following day at the National Cemetery in Tallahassee, FL. Charlie was a US Navy veteran that served in Vietnam.
I wished everyone could have seen the honor that the US Navy and military veterans in Panama City gave to Charlie throughout this funeral. A veteran’s honor guard stood at attention outside the funeral home with their flags during the funeral service. When the service began they came to the front of the church and saluted the flag draped casket. They then turned and gave Marsha a metal. Everybody lost it at that point.
The next day, there was about 20-25 veterans that brought their motorcycles and trucks to lead the funeral procession with US, POW and MIA flags flying. As we drove to the National Cemetery, cars and even 18 wheelers were pulling off to the side of the road to give honor. One person even exited their car and saluted. It was so inspiring to see that patriotism is still alive in the United States.
We were honored to conduct the graveside service with US Navy personnel. I worked with the military a lot when I was conducting background investigations for secret and top secret clearances. I gained a tremendous amount of respect for them during that period and I even have more respect for them now. The following are a few pictures that hopefully will give you a glimpse of how moving and powerful this was to everyone involved. I can not describe how proud I was to be an American when those Navy officers took that US flag off the casket, folded it, and presented it to Marsha. The third Navy officer then played taps and we all lost it again. We are so blessed to live in 
this country!!!!
