Commenter Of The Day: Three-Volley Salute Edition
Those salutes you see in the movies and on television are real. They're called "three-volley salutes" and, like the name suggests, there are three loud volleys of gunfire. And if you've never been to the funeral for a veteran you might not realize this, but the guns are loud. A few weeks ago I went to the funeral for my great uncle and was reminded of this. He was a Navy vet and in true family fashion, his best story from WWII wasn't about a battle but about a mistake. While returning to his ship from leave the bus he was on broke down in the middle of nowhere. Without a cell phone to call for help, they were stranded for a while. My great uncle missed his ship and was in a great deal of trouble for what seemed like desertion. But my uncle, ever on top of things, made sure to procure a note from the bus driver detailing what happened. His superiors, either amused or deeply concerned, reassigned him. All of us probably have a friend or family member who is serving or has served (probably both) and, in honor of veterans day, we posted about the the greatest Marine Corps vehicles. Well, SirBasilFawlty came down from his tower and one-upped us with this one. (Click to enlarge.)