The Patrick County Honor Guard is facing a critical shortage of members, threatening its ability to provide full military honors at local veterans’ funerals, according to Richard Cox.
Cox said the organization’s primary mission is to render final honors to deceased veterans, a responsibility that requires a full team of 18 members to properly conduct services.
“Over the past several months I have made posts and sent editorials to The Enterprise about the Honor Guard in Patrick County,” Cox said. “The response has been disheartening, to say the least.”
Cox said declining participation due to age, medical issues and work schedules has reduced active membership to roughly 12 veterans at any given service.
“It’s amazing that our 12 dedicated and loyal members are having to show up to each funeral over and over,” Cox said. “This places a strain on these members when there is no one to rotate for funeral appearances.”
He said the shortage also affects training, which he described as essential to maintaining a professional and respectful presentation.
“While our services are somewhat repetitive, training is essential to presenting a memorable and professional program to honor our deceased veterans,” Cox said. “It’s imperative that members show up for training programs when they are made available.”
Cox emphasized that veterans do not need to belong to the American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars to join the Honor Guard.
“If you are a veteran residing in Patrick County or have a friend or acquaintance who is a veteran, I urge you to contact us concerning membership,” Cox said. “The only request is that you have a DD-214 and an honorable discharge.”
Veterans interested in joining are invited to attend an Honor Guard meeting held the first Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the American Legion building in Stuart.
Those who would like more information before attending a meeting may contact Cox at 276-340-1618. “If no answer, leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible,” Cox said.
