Published: October 02, 2008 11:48 pm      

Honor Guard seeking new members

GREENVILLE — The Hunt County Honor Guard is recruiting new members according to Jerry Malone, a Major in the Volunteer Reserve and past commander of the Disabled American Veterans.

Malone said the members of the Hunt County Honor Guard carry on the best traditions of the military; they also assist the active duty military at funeral services for veterans. The Guard performs the Manual of Arms at funeral services, performs the Flag Ceremony at special community events and holds monthly meetings.

Malone said that the members of the Guard get a large sense of satisfaction with paying tribute to their fellow veterans. “It’s about veterans helping honor veterans. It’s also about their families, they deserve this,” Malone said. “We get more comments from the veterans’ children and grandchildren than from anybody. They appreciate the time someone takes to honor their family member and salute and thank them.”

Malone said that the Guard uses rifles donated by the Audie Murphy Museum, and has buglers perform Taps at as many funeral ceremonies for veterans as they can attend, but his group is spread thin. “Right now we have one squad, I’d like to have three squads, about 45 veterans, so we could do everything we need to do,” he said.

On Saturday, the Honor Guard will be holding their monthly meeting at an armored vehicle museum north of Royse City near Nevada. There will be a lunch served at 1 p.m., and then the veterans will have an opportunity to drive the armored vehicles, Malone said. Malone added that any veteran interested in attending the meeting and learning more about the Honor Guard can call him at 903-883-4571 or email jdm@onlineisp.net