military burial honors

[Nelrpeach]

What does the three bullets in the flag represent at a military funeral?

[IggyB]

The custom stems from an older tradition where opposing armies would have temporary cease fires in order to enter the battlefield and remove the dead - once the fallen soldiers had been removed and ceremonies performed etc three shots would be fired in quick succession to indicate that battle could resume. It appears that this has morphed into the current military funeral custom where three shots are fired and the casings (rather than the bullets) are put into the folded up flag to represent the volley of shots.

see more here http://usmilitary.abo...m/f/funeralhonors.htm

anyway hope this helps and sorry it took a little while for you to get an answer

love as always IggyB