{"id":24,"date":"2009-07-23T07:40:50","date_gmt":"2009-07-23T07:40:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/john-michael.net\/?p=24"},"modified":"2021-06-16T09:49:32","modified_gmt":"2021-06-16T13:49:32","slug":"fire-three-volleys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/john-michael.net\/index.php\/2009\/07\/23\/fire-three-volleys\/","title":{"rendered":"“Fire Three Volleys\u2026”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fire Three Volleys<\/h2>\n

is the command that is issued at a military funeral to honor that veteran\u2019s service to the United States of America. The origins of this tradition date back to the US Civil War when casualties were high in warfare and rules were a bit different. Each side was allowed to remove their casualties from the battlefield. After which they \u201cfired three volleys\u201d to alert the other side that they were ready\"firing to resume the battle.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0Rifles are weapons, not GUNS!<\/h2>\n
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The seven Soldiers in the photo to the right are bearing weapons, which in this case are rifles. They are an example of continuing this tradition to honor one of their fallen. It just so happens that there are seven (led by an NCO), but there could be as few as\u00a0two<\/strong>\u00a0or as many as\u00a0eight\u00a0<\/strong>Soldiers. They are the ones who are ordered to \u201cFire three volleys<\/a>\u201d \u2013\u00a0simultaneously<\/span>\u00a0as commanded by the NCO\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u00a0The BIG GUNS of the Old Guard<\/h2>\n
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\"Guns\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The photo to the right is an example of a \u201cGUN Salute\u201d \u2013 The Soldiers of the\u00a0Presidential<\/span>\u00a0Salute Battery (also known as \u201cThe Guns Platoon) are firing weapon systems, which in this case are WW II M5 \u2013 3\u2033anti-tank guns<\/a>. The Soldiers manning the guns are \u201corchestrated<\/span>\u201d by a battery staff consisting of an Officer in Charge (OIC<\/span>), a\u00a0Boardman<\/span>, who counts the rounds fired & announces \u201cLast Round\u201d, two watchmen who call the guns to fire and an NCO in Charge (NCOIC<\/span>) who controls the backup gun and marches the Soldiers on and off. I\u2019ve seen them countless times firing gun salutes \u2013 at timed intervals \u2013 but only\u00a0once<\/strong>\u00a0saw them fire a \u201c21 GUN SALUTE\u201d for the President on 20 JAN 2009 at the\u00a0inauguration<\/span>. I heard them fire a \u201c21 GUN SALUTE<\/a>\u201d on Memorial Day upon the arrival and another on the departure of the President from Arlington National Cemetery. So you can imagine how \u201crare\u201d a 21 GUN SALUTE<\/a> is, which makes it so special.<\/p>\n

BUY THE MUG<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\"Presidential<\/a>
\nPresidential Salute Battery in … A N C … Mug<\/a>
\nby john_michael_photos<\/a><\/div>\n
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No More Confusion<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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I hope this clears up some of the confusion you might have and help to inform those who insist that they saw a 21 GUN SALUTE at the last military funeral that they attended.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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