How do you honor the POW/MIA flag when posting the colors?
Great question! Here is the answer:
The POW/MIA color is not specifically honored when the colors are posted/presented.
For a ceremony, after the colors are presented or posted, that is when the POW/MIA color can be brought in and posted. How the flag is brought in is up to you. In the picture at the right, I was on the Kadena Air Base Honor Guard in the mid 2000s and had the honor of bearing the POW/MIA color on this particular occasion. I brought it in at Port arms, stood in the center of the stage where the colors had previously been presented, and then posted the color just to the viewer’s left of the POW/MIA Hat Table. We then continued with the Hat Table Ceremony.
You could have to honor guard members enter with the POW/MIA color cased, uncase it and present it to the audience and then post it.
Comments 2
For funeral or memorial services our local Veterans Honor Guard enters with posting the Colors, followed by the service flag of the deceased Veteran and then the POW/MIA. Is it proper to include this flag?
Author
Mr. Hearndon,
Posting the colors for a funeral is a meaningful gesture, many families appreciate it.
There’s a difference between colors carried vs. colors displayed. A typical funeral display set up would be the US, state, and service departmental. That recognizes each facet of the individual’s life of being a US citizen, a resident of the state, and their service in a military branch. You could even go further by adding the county and/or city flags, if appropriate (deceased served on the council, etc.).
Carrying the colors is entirely different. If you wish, you can post the US and state, there is authority and legitimacy there for any civilian-based group to post those. The requirement to carry the service color is being an Active Duty, Guard, or Reserve member of any service – DoDI 5410.19-V4 allows any member to carry any service’s color, while each service D&C manual describes who is authorized to man each position within the team.
Retirees, veterans, first responders, or citizens are not granted that same authorization to carry military service colors in official or unofficial settings.
As for the POW/MIA flag, if the deceased was a POW at one time, he is then authorized a Standard Honors Funeral with a personal color bearer carrying the POW. To carry it all the time and post it for every funeral goes beyond the scope of the flag.
I recommend that the team post only the US and state if they feel they want to continue posting the colors. The departmental color should be pre-posted near the casket with the US and state separate from the departmental (US/state on viewer’s left of casket, dept on right).
That arrangement prevents the visual and procedural awkwardness of a flag already occupying a stand in the same line of stands. I also recommend that the team stop carrying and posting the POW unless the deceased is a former POW.
DrillMaster