At military funerals, it has been a tradition if requested by the family for the honor guard to fold the flag that covered the veteran's coffin 13 times and to recite a script developed by veterans' groups that suggests an inspirational meaning for each fold. Now, according to Friday's Military Times, the National Cemetery Administration has banned the ceremony at all funerals after receiving a complaint about the language describing the 11th fold: "The eleventh fold, in the eyes of a Hebrew citizen, represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon, and glorifies, in their eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." The Chico (CA) Enterprise Record says that the complaint originated with a funeral at Southern California's Riverside National Cemetery.
The script accompanying the 12th fold also mentions religion: "The twelfth fold, in the eyes of a Christian citizen, represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in their eyes, God the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost." Last July, the Air Force secularized the script used at its funerals. (See prior posting.) [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]
