AN HONORABLE END Hendricks County Honor Guard Recognizes Local Veterans Who Have Passed On Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photographer / Darnell Scott
The Hendricks County Honor Guard started in 1999 with a purpose of honoring soldiers by performing primarily graveside military functions as rifleman, blowing Taps and folding and presenting the American flag to the next of kin.
has done over 900 funerals in Hendricks County. Though the majority of the funerals take place here in the county, they do go to surrounding counties as long as the deceased is a resident of Hendricks County.
“I’ve stood in line many times and watched grown men cry after we fire and blow Taps,” says Robert Schmidt, Commander of the Hendricks County (HC) Honor Guard since 2001. “It’s very emotional.”
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, they operate independent of the American Legion or VFW. They currently have 19 people who serve as volunteers, though they are always in search of more help. Anyone 18 years or older can get involved, and one doesn’t have to be in the service or have served in the military.
Since its inception, the HC Honor Guard
“Some people volunteer because their dad
was in the service or they want to honor someone they love,” Schmidt says. “We welcome and train anybody who is of age.” They average about one funeral a week, though at times they have done two or three in one day. They work with the funeral directors in the county, who call with details of the deceased, including their age, the time and place of the funeral as well as the branch the deceased has served in. Schmidt notes that the law says that two people from the deceased’s branch (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines) must be there. That’s not true of the HC Honor Guard.
6 / BROWNSBURG MAGAZINE / DECEMBER 2020 / BrownsburgMagazine.com
