The sun stood just shy of noon when Morris Smith said a few heartfelt words in an open-air chapel at Fort Logan National Cemetery and then uttered a simple order:
“Commander of the rifle squad, render the honors.”
Seven vintage M1 Garand rifles were aimed skyward, and three volleys cracked across the cemetery’s 214 acres. Joseph Wisneski, a World War II Navy veteran who died May 5 at age 91, had his 21-gun salute.
It came courtesy of the All Veterans Honor Guard, an area group that offers a final salute to deceased vets whose families request their services. The volunteers do this for free. Their remuneration is bankable only in the heart.
“Our payment for what we do in this noble cause is the thanks you get from the families of the person you do this for,” said Smith, the honor guard’s commander and a 23-year Air Force veteran. “They come up and shake your hand, and sometimes they can hardly let go of you.”
Last year, the honor guard’s six teams performed 779 ceremonies at Fort Logan. Smith’s squad handled 231 of them; this year they are on pace for 350, including duties today, Memorial Day.
Tuesday’s service for Wisneski was one of three the team performed at Fort Logan that day.
“We cover as many requests as we can,” said Smith, who earned a Distinguished Flying Cross in Vietnam as a crew member on an AC-130 Spectre gunship. “Once in a blue moon we’ll have to turn one down, but that’s usually because it’s a last-minute request that conflicts with a ceremony that’s already scheduled.”
Any honorably discharged veteran is eligible to join the team or receive its services. Some ceremonies are held at the deceased’s funeral; often it’s a simpler memorial service.
The team works year-round. In the wake of the December 2006 blizzard, they made it to services when snow was piled higher than the cemetery’s 76,000 white gravestones.
The men dress in creased gray slacks, crisp white shirts and dark blazers. Their gleaming black shoes would make a drill instructor proud. They enjoy an easy banter with one another, the kind you often see among retirees, but they are strictly military when the procession of family arrives at the cemetery.
At 84, Gilbert Herrera is the oldest member of the All Veterans Honor Guard. He joined 10 years ago and also belongs to American Legion Post 193.
“These men and women who served our country, we can’t have people forget their sacrifice,” he said.
The Lakewood resident could have been talking about himself, although he is too modest for that. Herrera served in the Army’s 17th Airborne Division during World War II. He fought in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge and came home with a Bronze Star.
The volunteers feel a special affinity for World War II veterans, who are dying at a rate of about 1,100 a day, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
“The satisfaction on a personal level is that we know we’re doing a much-needed service for the deceased and their families,” said Rich Richardson, a retired Air Force master sergeant. “We’ve all lost loved ones and know what it means to see them get recognition.
“When you hear taps, the tears come. It’s from the bottom of your heart.”
Joe Pettrow, a Navy veteran, is the squad’s bugler. His buddies call him “Liperace.”
“I learned to bugle in the Boy Scouts, but the first time I did it here I was scared stiff,” he said.
Showered with gratitude
The honor-guard ceremony typically features a 12-member team. Smith speaks to the mourners about honor and sacrifice. Chaplain Chris Nielsen says a prayer. Then a seven-man detail fires the 21-gun salute — three volleys of blank ammunition — with M1 rifles.
After Joseph Wisneski’s service, Herrera stooped to pick up the .30-caliber brass casings from the grass. He handed them to Wisneski’s widow and daughters as mementos.
Judith Wisneski cradled an American flag in her arms and talked about her dad and the strangers who came to honor him.
“It brought a lot of dignity to my father’s last ceremony,” she said. “I thought it was fantastic and very emotionally moving. It really helped connect me to that part of him that served our country.”
Her sister, Carolyn Wisneski, clutched a handful of shell casings, fired from the same type of rifle her father trained on in boot camp more than 65 years ago. “We were so touched and have so much gratitude for these men and the time they gave to my father and so many others,” she said.
Honor-guard member Bill Baker would have told her it was his privilege to be there.
“I believe that anyone who raises their right hand and vows to defend their country against enemies foreign and domestic has essentially said they’ll take a bullet for you,” said Baker, who spent 20 1/2 years in the Marine Corps. “It’s an honor to honor these people in this way.”
William Porter: 303-954-1877 or wporter@denverpost.com
