Military funeral honors for veterans in New York dropped amid pandemic

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Spc. Austin Dycha and Sgt. Nikole Clark drape the U.S. flag over the casket of U.S. Army Air Force Cpl. Raymond Kegler at his funeral in Lackawanna, New York, May 14, 2020. (Army National Guard Photo by Capt. Avery Schneider)

NEW YORK - Military services at veterans' funerals in New York plummeted this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Honor guards from the New York Army National Guard and Air National Guard were set to carry out ceremonial duties at 8,835 funerals by the end of 2020. That is down from 11,006 ceremonies in 2019, according to the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs.

After the pandemic gripped the country, the federal government halted graveside services and military honors at National Cemeteries for part of the year. Also, several states restricted gatherings, including funerals.

Many families of veterans who died didn't hold formal burial services and others declined to invite honor guards to services, according to the military.

"We just stopped receiving requests," Master Sgt. Ryan Snyder of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station Base Honor Guard said. 

However, Peter Moran, the coordinator for the New York Army National Guard's funeral program, said that families that declined to request military honors can apply through their funeral director for the ceremony to be held later. 

Indeed, Air National Guard Master Sgt. Sara Pastorello said that during the height of the spring pandemic many funeral directors conducted funerals quickly, forgoing military honors, but are expected to request honors at memorial services in the future.

Under federal law, U.S. veterans are eligible for military funeral honors unless they were dishonorably discharged. Those honors include soldiers or airmen presenting an American flag to the veteran's family and playing taps, usually on an electronic bugle.

The infection risks of the pandemic also prompted changes in the way the soldiers and airmen carried out their funeral duties. This included wearing masks and keeping their distance from the families and other mourners, officials said. Also, normally a service member would kneel and hand the U.S. flag to a family member. But amid the pandemic, the honor guard places the flag either on the coffin or behind the urn.

"It was a learning curve not being able to be as social with the mourners as possible," Air National Guard Tech Sgt. Anthony Villalon said. "It has been a unique challenge for us, because we are a people person function of the Air Force."