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Military Funerals and Honors

Images documenting military honors and funerals for notable figures, displaying ceremonies that recognize service and sacrifice.

Gen. Carsten Breuer (right), chief of defense, German Armed Forces, and German Navy Rear Adm. Axel Ristau (center), defense attaché, German Embassy in DC, participate in a Public Wreath-Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., April 3, 2023.

BELLEAU, France (May, 29, 2011)The 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps General James F. Amos lays a commemorative coin, which represents the war in Afghanistan, in front of the Iron Mike monument atop a hill in the heart of the Belleau Wood forest during a private Memorial Day ceremony in front of a formation of Marines and French soldiers. At the time, the Battle of Belleau Wood was the bloodiest of Marine Corps history. (Marine Corps

DA-ST-88-09582. Base: Mount Vernon State: Virginia (VA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken lays a wreath at the August 7 Memorial, in Nairobi, Kenya, on November 17, 2021.

U.S. Army Maj. Travis Clark, Casualty Assistance Officer, and Linda Chauvin, 2nd Lt. Eugene Shauvin's daughter, stand together with Shauvin's casket on July 23, 2022, in Spokane, Washington.

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, left, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, and NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana, right, pay respects at the grave markers of Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Roger Chaffee, from Apollo 1, during a ceremony that was part of NASA's Day of Remembrance, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Wreaths were laid in memory of those men and women who lost their lives in the quest for space exploration.

Indian Army officer carries wreath to place bodies seven Indian Army soldiers who lost their lives Uri terror attack Varanasi India Copyright: xSolaris/DinodiaxPhotox

Clif Twaddle speaks during the 95th Division Legacy Associations 72nd Reunion in Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., Oct. 20, 2022. Twaddle's grandfather, former 95th Division Commander U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Harry Twaddle, is buried in Section 2. As part of the reunion, two wreaths were placed at the gravesite of Maj. Gen. Twaddle.

Megan Kusewski is joined by her aunt, Mary K. Evert, as they place flowers on the boots of Megans father, LT. COL. Michael D. Kuszewski, during a memorial service for the 14 service members who perished in a helicopter accident at Camp Lejeune on 10 May, 1996. Subject Operation/Series: Combined Joint Training Field Exercise (CJTFEX) 96 Base: Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune State: North Carolina (NC) Country: United States Of America (USA)

070204-A-8359B-001. State: Virgin Islands (VI) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Veterans Day ceremony and aftermath at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C., where Secretary Dirk Kempthorne delivered the opening remarks, and joined participating dignitaries including the former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell, along with Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Founder and President Jan Scruggs, Vietnam Women's Memorial Foundation Founder and President Diane Carlson Evans, Mary "Edie" Meeks of the Vietnam Women's Memorial Foundation, William Hansen of Lockheed Martin, and William Murdy of Comfort Systems. Ceremony, co-hosted by the Memorial Fund and the National Park Service, highlighted the 25th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) service members prepare to lift a casket during a disinterment ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, April 4th, 2023. Approximately 63 individuals were disinterred as part of the Enoura Maru project: an on-going effort by DPAA to disinter, transport, and identify missing POWs from World War II. The remains were taken to the DPAA laboratory on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for further scientific analysis and possible identification.

Volunteers participate in the Wreaths Across Americas clean-up day, commonly known as Wreaths Out, in Section 12 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., Jan. 21, 2023. This year, over 3,000 volunteers participated and removed the 257,000 wreaths originally placed at ANC on Dec. 17, 2022.

Candles representing the different enlisted ranks are placed on a candelabra May 14, 2022, during the Wright-Patterson Chief Master Sergeant Recognition Ceremony at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. The event honored the Wright-Patt Airmen recently selected for promotion to the Air Forces highest enlisted rank.

060421-N-6238W-049. Base: Washington State: District Of Columbia (DC) Country: United States Of America (USA)

040930-N-4995T-103. Base: USS Arizona (BB 39) State: Hawaii (HI) Country: United States Of America (USA)

NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale participates in a wreath laying ceremony as part of NASA's Day of Remembrance, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008, at Arlington National Cemetery. The wreaths were laid in the memory of those men and women who lost their lives in the quest of space exploration.

British Royal Navy Cmdr. Derek Powles, the assistant naval attaché at the British Embassy, places the United Kingdom national flag next to the memorial site of USS Houston (CA 30) and HMAS Perth (D 29) in Arlington National Cemetery. In conjunction with Memorial Day weekend, Naval History and Heritage Command and partners took a moment to remember and honor the legacy of both ships. Houston and Perth currently remain at sea after their defeat in combat during World War II's Battle of Sunda Strait in 1942. Nearly three-quarters of Houstons 1,093 crew perished at sea, and the survivors were captured as prisoners of war.

U.S. Marines with 2nd Marine Logistics Group, prepare to present morning colors before an awards ceremony on Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Feb. 16, 2024. During the ceremony Marines and Sailors with 2nd MLG were awarded and recognized for their efforts and discipline during the calendar year of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024. Marine Corps

U.S. Military Members from U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, U.S.Army Garrison Italy, Aviano Air Base, Camp Darby Military Community and Military Vaterans honored their comrades who lost their life for our freedom, at Florence Memorial Cemetery, Italy, May 30, 2022. Consul General of the United States in Florence, Ragini Gupta read the Presidential Proclamation to open the commemoration ceremony. Guests of honor were the United States Ambassador for the Holy See Joseph Donnelly, the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa Commander, and the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Deputy Commanding General, Major Gen. Andrew Rohling, and the Italian Deputy Minister of Defense, Honorable Stefania Pucciarelli.

Annual Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally and related events on the National Mall, with Secretary Dirk Kempthorne among officials on hand

Marker at the temporary memorial, near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, honoring the passengers and crew of Flight 93, hijacked on September 11, 2001. Secretary Gale Norton visited the site to swear in the members of the Flight 93 National Memorial Federal Advisory Commission

Vice President Mike Pence observes the grave marker of Virgil "Gus" Grissom, from Apollo 1, after family and friends of astronauts lost in the Challenger and Columbia missions, former NASA Administrators, and other NASA staff participated in a wreath laying ceremony that was part of NASA's Day of Remembrance, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Wreaths were laid in memory of those men and women who lost their lives in the quest for space exploration.

U.S. Marine Corps Col. Michael L. Brooks, base commander of Marine Corps Base Quantico, and Stafford County Board of Supervisors, Chairman Crystal Vanuch, lay a wreath during the Stafford County Armed Services Memorial Day ceremony at Stafford, Virginia, May 27, 2022. Memorial Day is a day to honor all the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country.

U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Cape May holds a Memorial Day ceremony, May 30, 2022, on base in Cape May, N.J. This Memorial Day, Adm. Karl Schultz, commandant of the Coast Guard, called on all members of the service to honor and remember our countrymen who were killed on the battlefield or died from related injuries or sickness as they fought to preserve the ideals of freedom and democracy. The Coast Guard will remember all United States Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and Merchant Mariners who paid the ultimate sacrifice, who gave their last full measure of devotion fighting for our Nation and the family members they left behind.U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Warrant Officer 2 Timothy Tamargo

Airmen from MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., place wreaths on the graves of veterans during Wreaths Across America Day at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell , Fla., Dec. 15, 2012. Ten Airmen from MacDill AFB traveled to the cemetery to participate in the event.

The caisson bearing the remains of the Unknown Serviceman of the Vietnam Era passes through a Marine Honor cordon as it moves onto Memorial Bridge. The procession is en route to Arlington National Cemetery where a state funeral service will take place in the Memorial Amphitheater, followed by interment at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Base: Arlington State: Virginia (VA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

060829-N-5555T-001. Base: Nab Little Creek State: Virginia (VA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

A U.S. Army veteran renders a salute to the remains of five veterans after an unaccompanied funeral service at the Fort Richardson National Cemetery on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Nov. 30, 2022. The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs works jointly with the federally recognized non-profit organization Missing in American Project in locating, identifying and interring the unclaimed cremated remains of veterans with full honors and ceremony. (Alaska National Guard photo by Victoria Granado)

Annual Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally and related events on the National Mall, with Secretary Dirk Kempthorne among officials on hand

Russia, Moscow, Kremlin, Alexandrovsky Garden area. Unknown Soldier Memorial guarded by the Presidential Regiment soldiers, changing of the guard. (Editorial Usage Only)

Day of Remembrance. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson pauses for a moment of silence after laying a wreath at the Apollo 1 Memorial during a ceremony that was part of NASA's Day of Remembrance, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Wreaths were laid in memory of those men and women who lost their lives in the quest for space exploration.

Guests wait to hear holiday music from the 1st Armored Division band at the Fort Bliss National Cemetery Memorial Day ceremony in northeast El Paso, Texas, May 30, 2022. A Department of Veterans Affairs facility, due to relaxed COVID protocols in comparison to previous years, the ceremony was the first on-site Memorial Day ceremony open to the public since 2019.

Pacific Islands Tour: Visit of Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and aides to Guam, U.S. Territory

070214-A-5560M-012. Base: Humacao State: Puerto Rico (PR) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Senior Airman Demarion Davis, 2022 Outstanding Airman of the Year representing United States Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa, looks at a memorial centerpiece at the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va., Sept. 18, 2022. Davis, along with the other 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year, attended a National Capital region tour where they visited different historical and national landmarks across Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Pacific Islands Tour: Visit of Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and aides to Guam, U.S. Territory

MGEN John S. Crosby, assistant deputy chief of staff, personnel, observes as soldiers carry caskets containing the remains of a member of the 3rd Bn., 502nd Inf., 101st Airborne Div., out of a temporary morgue at Gander Airport. On December 12, 1985, 248 soldiers of the 3rd Battalion were killed in a plane crash at the airport. They were returning to the United States after participating in peacekeeping duty with the Multi-national Force and Observers in the Sinai Desert. Base: Gander State: Newfoundland (NF) Country: Canada (CAN)

Veterans of Operation "MARKET GARDEN" along with Soldiers assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and 2nd Brigade Combat Team attend a memorial service during the 78th anniversary of the operation which included various orators, poetry, laying of wreaths, national anthems and a minute of silence on Sept. 11, 2022, at Veghel, Netherlands. They were able to reconnect with Dutch citizens and together they were able honor and remember the brave actions of the men that fought to liberate Holland from German occupation during World War II.

JINHAE, Republic of Korea (Feb. 22, 2013) Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, participates in a wreath-laying ceremony in honor of Adm. Arleigh Burke at the Republic of Korea (ROK) Naval Academy. Haney's visit to the Naval Academy was part of a two-day trip to the Korean Peninsula to meet with U.S. military leadership and their ROK counterparts to strengthen the ROK-U.S. Alliance.

A tomb guard from the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) supports a Public Wreath-Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., Nov. 4, 2022.

The Apollo 1 monument is seen at Arlington National Cemetery, Thursday, June 2, 2022, in Arlington, Va. The monument honors and memorializes the Apollo 1 crew of Virgil I. Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee.

030202-F-0558K-071. Base: Barksdale Air Force Base State: Louisiana (LA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

SAN DIEGO (Aug. 5, 2022) Rear Adm. H.W. Howard III, Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command, right, and Naval Special Warfare Deputy Force Master Chief (SEAL) Walter Dittmar, lay a wreath on the Exortion 17 Memorial at Naval Special Warfare Command. The Exortion 17 helicopter crash claimed the lives of 38 people, including 22 NSW personnel in Afghanistan Aug. 6, 2011. NSW is the nations premiere maritime special operations force that extends the Fleet and Joint Forces reach for collection and lethality, delivers all domain options to undermine our enemies confidence, and strengthens diplomatic leverage.

Dr. Hiroya Sugano, ceremony host, delivers a speech commemorating those who lost their lives during World War II as part of a U.S.-Japan Joint Memorial Service June 11, 2022, at Mt. Shizuhata, Shizuoka city, Japan. The memorial service provided participants the opportunity to honor those who lost their lives during a World War II air raid on June 20, 1945. During the raid, two U.S. Army Air Forces B-29 Superfortresses collided mid-air over Shizuoka City, resulting in the death of 23 Airmen on board the aircraft. Representatives of the U.S. Air Forces Yokota Air Base, Japan Self Defense Force, and Shizuoka City rendered their respects to the Airmen and Japanese civilians who lost their lives as a result of the tragedy, and reflected on the strong alliance the U.S. and Japan have forged since the end of World War II.

U.S. Army Area Support Group Poland Senior Enlisted Advisor Sgt. Maj. Joseph Cristaro holds a wreath near the memorial site of Peter Mansfeld in Poznan, Poland, Oct. 23, 2022. Two different memorial sites in Poznan recognize Romek Strzalkowski and Peter Mansfeld who were killed during the Polish and Hungarian Uprisings against Soviet Influenced regimes in 1956.

Members of the U.S. Armed Forces Joint Service Color Guard practice before their performance at one of the Inauguration Day events for George H.W. Bush, 41st President of the United States. Base: Washington State: District Of Columbia (DC) Country: United States Of America (USA)

A Catholic priest reads a blessing during the dedication of the Spangdahlem AIRMAN's Memorial. Base: Spangdahlem Air Base State: Rheinland-Pfalz Country: Deutschland / Germany (DEU)

A member of the fire department places a rose at the base of a flagpole during a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at RAF Alconbury, England, Sept. 12, 2022. Members of the fire and police forces on base participated to pay homage to the first responders lost on 9/11.

YOKOSUKA, Japan (Sept. 11, 2022) Chief Select Shanice M. Teal strikes bells to honor the lives lost during the 9/11 attacks during a remembrance ceremony onboard Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY). For more than 75 years, CFAY has provided, maintained, and operated base facilities and services in support of the U.S. 7th Fleet's forward-deployed naval forces, tenant commands, and thousands of military and civilian personnel and their families.

Ceremony at Department of Interior South Building marking adoption by Department employees of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division and the 10th Mountain Division as wartime focal points for volunteer activities on behalf of military families

September 11 second year anniversary, Ground Zero

An airmen, salutes a wreath to honor the memory of silent warriors that paid the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country from 1948 to present at Vigilant Memorial Park, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, Sept. 9, 2022.

August 21, 2008 - At Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, a new explosive ordnance building was dedicated to an Airman. In addition to the dedication, a memorial stands in the building to remember this EOD Airman who died in Iraq.

Blair Cowan, a captain for the San Diego Legion rugby team observes a 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, memorial plaque before a rugby clinic hosted by Marine Rotational Force - Darwin 24.3 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Feb. 23, 2024. SD Legion was brought in to teach MRF-D 24.3 Marines about rugby, a sport that builds comradery and teamwork. Founded in 2017, the SD Legion is a San Diego based rugby union team with players from all over the world. Marine Corps

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Koku-Jieitai) monument commemorates the 10th anniversary of the JASDF relocation of the Air Defense Command to Yokota Air Base, Japan, April 20, 2022. The ADC headquarters was relocated from Fuchu Air Base, Japan, as part of a bilateral initiative to enhance the U.S.-Japan Security Alliance.

Attendants of the Madingley Memorial Day Commemorative Service take time to look at some of the estimated one hundred and fifty wreaths that will be laid, as part of the ceremony, in front of the Wall of the Missing. The ceremony was held at Cambridge American Military Cemetery, Coton, Cambridge, United Kingdom. Base: Raf Lakenheath State: East Anglia Country: England / Great Britain (ENG)

Marker at the temporary memorial, near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, honoring the passengers and crew of Flight 93, hijacked on September 11, 2001. Secretary Gale Norton visited the site to swear in the members of the Flight 93 National Memorial Federal Advisory Commission

220606-N-CM110-1001 PACIFIC OCEAN (June 6, 2022) - Amphibious assault carrier USS Tripoli (LHA 7), remembers and honors those who fought in one of the largest amphibious landings in history, D-Day, June 6, 2022. Tripoli is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy graphic by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Maci Sternod)

030911-F-9032T-003. Base: RAF Lakenheath State: Suffolk Country: United Kingdom (GBR) Scene Major Command Shown: USAFE

Family members of Petty Officer 1st Class Begin Corzatt stand during an interment ceremony held at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Sept. 21, 2022. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and attending family members payed their respects and honored the life of Corzatt, who was assigned to the USS Oklahoma when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft during World War II. Corzatt was accounted for on Dec. 17, 2020, nearly 80 years after the attacks on Pearl Harbor.

jsc2017e039459 (04/03/2017) --- At the Kremlin Wall in Red Square in Moscow, Expedition 51 crewmember Jack Fischer of NASA lays flowers at the site where Russian space icons are interred during traditional ceremonies April 3. Fischer and Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) will launch April 20 on the Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a four and a half month mission on the International Space Station. Photo: NASA/Rob Navias.

070214-A-5560M-016. Base: Humacao State: Puerto Rico (PR) Country: United States Of America (USA)

221206-N-MR124-1001 SAN DIEGO (Dec. 6, 2022) A photo of the USS Arizona Pearl Harbor Memorial is combined with a historical image of the USS Arizona on the day of the Dec. 7, 1941 to honor Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, Dec. 7, 2022.

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