Posted: April 20, 2012

On April 17, the Department of Defense issued a memo explaining that the flag presentation verbiage for military funeral honors ceremonies conducted by the Department of Defense will be standardized.

The following verbiage is the verbiage that will be used when presenting the American flag during the funeral service:

"On behalf of the President of the United States, (the United States Army; the United States Marine Corps; the United States Navy; of the United States Air Force), and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's honorable and faithful service."

This new text will be incorporated in the next revision of the Department of Defense Instruction 1300.15, "Military Funeral Support." The United States Coast Guard is invited to use the same verbiage.