Maine Military Funeral Honors Program

Floor Speech

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, today I recognize the contribution of the Maine Military Funeral Honors Program of the Army National Guard. The soldiers in this exceptional program perform military honors at the funerals for Maine's fallen warriors and veterans. They pay tribute to the men and women who have served our Nation, and provide comfort and dignity to the families during their time of loss.

On August 27, the Maine Military Funeral Honors Program performed its seven thousandth military funeral, a duty they have carried out since October 2004. Since that time, approximately 30 highly skilled and carefully selected soldiers of the Maine Military Funeral Honors Program have performed funerals for all of Maine's soldiers who have been killed in action, as well as funerals for veterans of every era, including one in July 2010 for a Civil War Veteran, William Wallace Clark, whose remains were recovered in July 2009 from an unmarked grave beside that of his wife. The team performed 424 military funerals in its first year, and this year they will perform over 1,300--sadly more than 3 funerals per day as our World War II veterans are leaving us.

The soldiers of the Maine Military Funeral Honors Program proudly and respectfully render final honors for our fallen heroes, both past and present, from Fort Kent to Kittery, in the sweltering heat or the bitter cold. They never break military bearing and conform to the same exacting standards that are expected of all honor guards across the country, including those at Arlington National Cemetery.

The Maine Military Funeral Honors Program provides services to 96 percent of the Army veteran population in the State of Maine, a remarkable achievement unmatched by any other State. This year, the program will likely achieve 100 percent. As they continue to meet the growing number of requests to honor those who have answered the call to serve, I continue to be impressed by this exceptional program's dedication to honoring Maine's fallen Army veterans. On the occasion of their seven thousandth military funeral, it is an honor for me to pay homage to those who provide final honors to the best Maine and America have to offer.

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