Pa. honor guard looking for a few good veterans
PAXINOS, Pa. — The local Marine Corps League detachment is in need of a few good men — and women — to join its honor guard.
Walt Summers said he sees Marine Corps flags proudly flown throughout the greater Shamokin area, and more than a few corps license plates on cars and pickups.
The men and women who served with honor and are proud to be Marines are needed, he said, to help lay fellow Marines and other military veterans to rest.
"We're soliciting all these people who are proud to show they're Marines. They served their country, now come and serve the community," Summers, 82, of Paxinos, said Thursday.
The Black Diamond Detachment 846 of the Marine Corps League was recently certified to serve as an honor guard at all military funerals.
The detachment has 22 members, Summers said, but some of them may be unable to help, especially on short notice, due to doctors appointments and the like or even physical limitation.
"Some of our members are World War II guys," he said. "We need more Marines."
A minimum of eight Marines are needed for any one detachment honor guard. They have at present enough members to handle one funeral at a time, but he said there will be occasions when more than one military funeral would be occurring simultaneously.
Summers says area funeral directors have been made aware of the detachment's availability. They will serve in the areas of Shamokin, Coal Township, Paxinos and Elysburg, so as to not step on the toes of other honor guards, he said.
But when it comes to Marines, he said "we'd go everywhere."
