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The Harlan Honor Guard has been around for quite some time, and is familiar to many Harlan County residents of the past and present. The organization provides Last Rites for military veterans who have been honorably discharged as well as providing a presence at multiple patriotic events throughout the area.

Harlan Honor Guard members Commander David Witt, Howard Shoope, and Vice Commander James Daniels provided some information on the organization they have dedicated a large amount of time and effort to over the years.

Established in 2004, the Harlan Honor Guard is comprised of honorably discharged veterans and is a non-profit incorporated veterans’ group. High among the Harlan Honor Guard’s activities is performing Last Rites at the funerals of military veterans.

“We try to serve any veteran that has an honorable discharge,” Shoope said.

Shoope explained the military branch the veteran was part of makes no difference to the Honor Guard.

“We’ve got flags for every branch of the service,” Daniels said.

The procedure followed for each funeral service is similar.

“We get to the cemetery before the funeral starts,” Witt explained. “We’ll line up. We’ll have seven shooters, a Sgt. at Arms, flagmen, and then we’ll have people to fold the flag.”

Shoope mentioned taps is played and the flag of the branch of service the veteran was in is used and presented to the veteran’s family.

According to Witt, Daniels and Shoope, the Harlan Honor Guard was formed because the United States military ceased providing Last Rites services to veterans because of a lack of personnel due to war commitments. The people in the Honor Guard wished to ensure honorably discharged veterans were provided with full military honors as a tribute to their service to their country.

Additionally, the Harlan Honor Guard bylaws state the Harlan Honor Guard was established for multiple purposes:

• For God and Country
• To uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America
• To safeguard the principles of Justice, Freedom, and Democracy
• To Honor and Preserve the memory of America’s fallen
• To give comfort to their families
• To be devoted to the mutual helpfulness of our fellow veterans

The Harlan Honor Guard is currently looking for new members, as many of the organization’s members have either passed away or cannot take part because of advanced age and/or failing health. As time passes, finding new members becomes more important.

“When I joined there were 27 active members,” Shoope said.

Any honorably discharged military vet interested in joining may wish to attend a meeting of the Harlan Honor Guard.

“We meet the first Monday of every month,” Daniels said. “If anybody’s interested, bring your DD214 (discharge papers) and come to a meeting.”

Shoope said they currently have two new prospective members, but they need as many new members as possible.

“The problem we have is most of us are over 70,” Shoope said. “There are three of us that are above 80, one is 86.”

The Harlan Honor Guard also takes part in other types of programs. The group especially enjoys participating in any program which involves school children.

“We like to let kids see a little bit of patriotism,” Shoope said. “I don’t know of any school we’ve turned down.”

The Harlan Honor Guard also places American flags on the graves of veterans on Memorial Day to commemorate their service.

“A lot of people don’t realize we’re the ones who put the flags out on the graves,” Daniels said. “There have been a lot of flags we’ve put out.”

The Harlan Honor Guard places approximately 4,000 flags at the gravesites of veterans at appropriate times.

Shoope mentioned the group usually holds a cookout on Memorial Day at the Harlan Honor Guard facility near Loyall.

“Any person can come,” Shoope said. “We just like to give back to the community.”

Over the Harlan Honor Guard’s 20-year history, the group has provided their services for hundreds of funerals.

“We’ve done over 1,200 funerals,” Witt said.

Shoope noted most funeral homes will make a donation when the Honor Guard participates in a veteran’s funeral service.

The members of the Harlan Honor Guard take their work honoring veterans very seriously and take pride in what they do.

Shoope summed up what he considers the most important part of the Harlan Honor Guard’s activities.

“It’s knowing that we have served, and what it meant to us to have served and be able to show to the person that is getting the flag (at a funeral) that the man or woman we did the funeral for means something more than just a body being put in the ground,” Shoope explained.

Since the Harlan Honor Guard is a non-profit organization, donations are essential to the organization’s survival, Witt said.

Donations can be sent via check to Harlan Honor Guard, P.O. Box 704, Baxter, Kentucky, 40806.

For more information on the Harlan Honor Guard, go to the Harlan Honor Guard Facebook page or visit their website at https://www.harlanhonorguard.org.