Rep. Calvert Calls on Veterans' Affairs to Reverse Decision on 13-Flag Folding Ceremony

Press Release

REP. CALVERT CALLS ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS TO REVERSE DECISION ON 13-FLAG FOLDING CEREMONY

Today Congressman Ken Calvert (R-CA) and Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-OH) solicited signatures for a letter to Acting Secretary of Veterans' Affairs Gordon Mansfield requesting the Department reconsider the decision that prevents the recitation of the flag-folding ceremony at military funerals.

"If a family member would like the 13-flag fold recitation at the funeral of their loved one, they should not be prevented by Washington bureaucrats," said Rep. Calvert.

The issue over the recitation, which includes references to Judaism and Christianity, was prompted by one complaint to the Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California located in Congressman Calvert's district. The Press Enterprise (www.pe.com) reported that since the complaint, federal workers and volunteers had been instructed not to perform the recitation even if requested by the family. According to Veterans' Affairs, the decision to disallow the recitation was made to provide uniformity in the funeral ceremony.

"Veterans have every right to be upset that a tradition they hold sacred has been banned from the military funeral ceremony," stated Rep. Calvert. "The funeral ceremony for a veteran is a private and often very spiritual event. If a family would like the 13-flag fold recitation included, the VA should not stand in the way. What's next? Disallowing the playing of Amazing Grace at military funerals? The VA is being manipulated by out-of-control secularists who wish to banish the word ‘God' from American history and culture."

Reps. Steven LaTourette and Ken Calvert will introduce a Sense of Congress resolution this week that families should be allowed to request and have a flag-folding ceremony recited at the nation's 125 national cemeteries, including two in Ohio.

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