Honor guard saluted
Dinner: Miller Funeral Home held a dinner to recognize the Coshocton County Veterans Honor Guard on Thursday evening, Nov. 20 at the Frontier Power Community room. The meal was catered by Schumaker Farms and attended by honor guard members and spouses. Irwin R. Gibson (second from left) and George Leach (third from left) were two World War II veterans that attended. Also pictured are Valerie and Matt Miller, the owners of Miller Funeral Home who host the dinner for the veterans. Gibson served in the U.S. Army from 1943 – 1945 in North Africa, Italy and Southern France as a member of the 34th Infantry Division. Leach landed on Omaha Beach and was a member of the 3rd Armored Division. They said about the dinner, “It was wonderful. There are really no words for the Miller’s doing this for us.” Beacon photo by Mark Fortune
COSHOCTON – Each year since starting the business, Matt and Valerie Miller of Miller Funeral Home have held a Veterans Honor Guard dinner to recognize the heroes that give so unselfishly of their time at veterans’ calling hours and funerals.
The group is coordinated through the Coshocton County Veterans Service Commission and Patty Dilly heads up that effort. She said about the dinner, “They are just honored for this. It is just wonderful that Matt has taken them and done this again this year. It’s just amazing, it’s an honor for them to be able to take the time and do the services. They don’t ask for anything in return.” Dilly said that the honor guard serves at 75 to 80 funerals per year in Coshocton County. She also said that, “We are unique in Coshocton County that our honor guard is run through the veterans’ service office. In most communities it is through the VFW or American Legion.”
Matt Miller said, “We always are working with the honor guard throughout the year doing services for our fallen veterans. It is the one time of the year we get them together, we have some good food and good fellowship, they bring their spouses and we all just sit and talk. We have some good fellowship time and it’s our way of showing our appreciation for them and when they’re out there in 10 degrees at the cemeteries and they’re performing their duty for their fallen brothers.”
Valerie Miller said, “This year we were personally able to experience the honor and the patriotism and that heartwarming moment as each one of them stepped up and saluted Matt’s father before his funeral. Now we truly know what it means to these families when these honor guard veterans show up.”
Matt Miller said, “It is especially hard this year because dad was moving here and was going to join the honor guard with these fellows and to have just a little over a month ago to have them saluting my dad at the funeral home was pretty emotional. And we thanked them here this evening for the professional job they did for my dad.”
mark@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: People & Places
