The meaning of the flag draped coffin:

[matt1956]

A good friend past this on to me and I thought is was only right to do the same.

The meaning of the flag draped coffin:

what the flag draped coffin really means...... Here is how to understand the
flag that laid upon it and is surrendered to so many widows and widowers.

Do you know that at military funerals, the 21-gun salute
stands for the sum of the numbers in the year 1776?



Have you ever noticed the honor guard pays meticulous
attention to correctly folding the United States of America Flag 13 times? You
probably thought it was to symbolize the original 13 colonies, but we learn
something new every day!

The 1st fold of the flag is a symbol of life.

The 2nd fold is a symbol of the belief in eternal life.

The 3rd fold is made in honor and remembrance of the
veterans departing the ranks who gave a portion of their lives for the defense
of the country to attain peace throughout the world.


The 4th fold represents the weaker nature, for as
American citizens trusting in God, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as
well as in time of war for His divine guidance.


The 5th fold is a tribute to the country, for in the
words of Stephen Decatur, "Our Country, in dealing with other countries, may she
always be right; but it is still our country, right or wrong."


The 6th fold is for where people's hearts lie. It is
with their heart that They pledge allegiance to the flag of the United! States
Of America, and the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God,
indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.

The 7th fold is a tribute to its Armed Forces, for it is
through the Armed Forces that they protect their country and their flag against
all her enemies, whether they be found within or without the boundaries of their
republic.



The 8th fold is a tribute to the one who entered into
the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day.


The 9th fold is a tribute to womanhood, and Mothers. For
it has been through their faith, their love, loyalty and devotion that the
character of the men and women who have made this country great has been molded.

The 10th fold is a tribute to the father, for he, too,
has given his sons and daughters for the defense of their country since they
were first born.



The 11th fold represents the lower portion of the seal
of King David and King Solomon and glorifies in the Hebrews eyes, the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.



The 12th fold represents an emblem of eternity and
glorifies, in the Christians eyes, God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.



The 13th fold, or when the flag is completely folded,
the stars are uppermost reminding them of their nations motto, "In God We
Trust."



After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it
takes on the appearance of a Three Cornered hat, ever reminding us of the soldiers who served under General George Washington, and the Sailors and Marines who served under Captain John Paul Jones, who were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the Armed Forces of the United States, preserving for them the rights, privileges and freedoms they enjoy today.

There are some traditions and ways of doing things that
have deep meaning. In the future, you'll see flags folded and now you will know
why.

Share this with the children you love and all others who
love what is referred to, the symbol of "Liberty and Freedom."

MAYBE THE SUPREME COURT SHOULD READ THIS EXPLANATION
BEFORE THEY RENDER THEIR DECISION ON THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. FORWARD IT; MAYBE
SOMEONE WITH THE NECESSARY POWER, OR POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL INFLUENCE, WILL GET
IT TO THEM.


IN THE MEANTIME, MAY GOD PROTECT US ALWAYS.

ONE NATION, UNDER GOD, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL

 

[SiameseRat]

Since Scrivener hasn't done it yet, please allow me to mention the following link:

http://www.snopes.com/military/flagfold.htm

though if you follow another link at the bottom of the article it brings you to an alternate explanation that gives some love to the Jews, too. But it explains that much like your mother's china, this is just for special occasions.

The first fold of our flag is a symbol of life.

The second fold is a symbol of our belief in the eternal life.

The third fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veteran departing our ranks who gave a portion of life for the defense of our country to attain a peace throughout the world.

The fourth fold represents our weaker nature, for as American citizens trusting in God, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as in times of war for His divine guidance.

The fifth fold is a tribute to our country, for in the words of Stephen Decatur, "Our country, in dealing with other countries, may she always be right; but it is still our country, right or wrong."

The sixth fold is for where our hearts lie. It is with our heart that we pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

The seventh fold is a tribute to our Armed Forces, for it is through the Armed Forces that we protect our country and our flag against all her enemies, whether they be found within or without the boundaries of our republic.

The eighth fold is a tribute to the one who entered in to the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day, and to honor mother, for whom it flies on Mother's Day.

The ninth fold is a tribute to womanhood; for it has been through their faith, love, loyalty and devotion that the character of the men and women who have made this country great have been molded.

The tenth fold is a tribute to father, for he, too, has given his sons and daughters for the defense of our country since they were first born.

The eleventh fold, in the eyes of a Hebrew citizen, represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon, and glorifies, in their eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The twelfth fold, in the eyes of a Christian citizen, represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in their eyes, God the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost.

When the flag is completely folded, the stars are uppermost, reminding us of our national motto, "In God we Trust." (Wait for the Honor Guard or Flag Detail to inspect the flag--after the inspection, resume reading.)

After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the soldiers who served under General George Washington and the sailors and marines who served under Captain John Paul Jones who were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the Armed Forces of the United States, preserving for us the rights, privileges, and freedoms we enjoy today.

Interesting story though.

 

[FPrice]

There is a flag ceremony that my last base began using to present a flag to retiring military members. The Honor Guard brings out a folded flag, unfolds it, then re-folds it while a narrative is read. The narrative sounds like this but I don't think it's an exact match. If I remember I'll contact them next week and see if I can get the words and post them, along with a link if there is one.

Here is a website that has pretty much the same thing:

http://www.usflag.org/foldflag.html

 

[matt1956]

ok... maybe I should have mentioned that my friend was a Sgt in teh army and unfortunatily has first hand knowledge of this...

Was kid of hoping for everyone to just read and respect it... guess not.

 

[FPrice]

Was kid of hoping for everyone to just read and respect it... guess not.

Having been the recipient of a flag in such a ceremony I certainly respected it.

Thanks for posting it for all to see.

 

[MrsWildweasel]

Thanks Matt.

 

[SiameseRat]

ok... maybe I should have mentioned that my friend was a Sgt in teh army and unfortunatily has first hand knowledge of this...

Was kid of hoping for everyone to just read and respect it... guess not.

I didn't think my post was disrespectful and I'm sorry if you took it that way. I just thought your version only mentioned Christianity, which seemed a little odd since all religions are represented in the Armed Forces. I was suspicious.

I posted a different version that I found, too. Don't know why that seemed disrespectful to you.

 

[depicts]

SiameseRat, if you look at Matt's version again, you'll see that it gives proper respect to the family of Abraham, before Christians are mentioned.

 

[SiameseRat]

mea culpa. We all have brain farts every now and then.

 

[Executive]

Sometimes a post can be inaccurate but still nice.


Chris