KAPAA — Two soldiers based in Oahu with the U.S. Army National Guard Military Funeral Honors Program were on island Tuesday to fill for Kauai members who were in training. Staff Sgt. Jonathan Knox and Sgt. Danny Acidera performed the
KAPAA — Two soldiers based in Oahu with the U.S. Army National Guard Military Funeral Honors Program were on island Tuesday to fill for Kauai members who were in training.
Staff Sgt. Jonathan Knox and Sgt. Danny Acidera performed the special duty in Hanalei. The two non-commissioned officers performed a ceremony that included the folding and presenting of the American flag to the next of kin and the playing of “Taps” on a bugle.
The two were supported by members of the Kauai Army Veterans unit, which provided the rifle salute.
“It is the ultimate tribute to the that our government can give to the soldier and to their family,” said Knox, who is attached to the Multifunctional Training Unit of the Hawaii Army National Guard’s 298th Regiment. He has served on call with the funeral detail for the past two-and-a-half years.
Knox is a trainer in the non-commissioned officer leadership development course and said one of the soldiers that he taught was killed in Afghanistan. The loss of the student and performing the burial duty for someone he knew put it all in perspective, he said, with a ceremony that is both meaningful and difficult.
Acidera is a trumpet player attached to the 111th Army Band in Pearl City on Oahu, and has served with the on-call funeral detail for three years. Playing “Taps” on the bugle is a moving experience that gets to everyone, he said.
“If they are not crying already during the service, they are when we play ‘Taps’,” Acidera said.
After the service, the two stopped in Kapaa to change out of their dress uniforms for dinner before they caught a flight back to Oahu.
Funeral honors candidates are referred by their supervisor and then selected by their commanding officer. They go through a year of training and a lot of rehearsal, Acidera said.
The Army National Guard’s Military Funeral Honors program conducts training and in-state certification of soldiers to perform the service. The training is to ensure the approximately 100,000 services conducted annually nationwide are professional and dignified.
Military Funeral Honors are available to eligible veterans if requested by the family. The law requires an honor guard detail to consist of at least two members of the Armed Forces, with at least one representing the service of the deceased veteran.
