{"id":1503,"date":"2014-08-28T14:04:14","date_gmt":"2014-08-28T18:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=1503"},"modified":"2025-04-18T10:56:47","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T14:56:47","slug":"decades-flag-draped-coffins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/decades-flag-draped-coffins\/","title":{"rendered":"Decades of flag-draped coffins"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Lady<\/a>
Lady Liberty mourns beside a flag-draped coffin during the Civil War. (Thomas Nast drawing)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sometimes, history repeats itself in perfect intervals. For example, 2014 continues the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, marks the centenary of the First World War and begins the observance of the 75th anniversary of World War II, which broke out in 1939. Over that span, American flags<\/a> were draped over the coffins of tens of thousands of servicemen.<\/p>\n

CIVIL WAR<\/h3>\n

Captain Andre Cailloux \u201cfell at the head of his company while gallantly leading it on to the charge of the celebrated assault\u2026at Port Hudson\u201d in Louisiana, The New York Times noted in August 1863.<\/p>\n

\"Flag-draped<\/a>
Flag-draped coffins at Arlington Cemetery<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHis funeral,\u201d the story continued, \u201cwas the most remarkable affair\u2026that ever took place in New Orleans\u2026.The coffin was draped in the American flag,\u2026while a band of one of our white volunteer regiments performed the dirges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cailloux was of mixed race, the Times noted, but \u201cit was not because he was a negro, but because he was a brave man\u2026that these honors were conferred\u201d on him.<\/p>\n

WORLD WAR I<\/h3>\n

The Augusta (Georgia) Chronicle opined in 1917 that \u201cthere is something peculiarly sad in a soldier\u2019s funeral\u2026.As we\u2026see the flag-draped coffin,\u2026it is difficult to keep back the tear that springs unbidden even to the eyes of those who never knew\u2026the brave lad who now sleeps in untimely death.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sketch<\/a>
Sketch of WWI-era coffin on a caisson.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A year later, that was so when Major Raoul Lufbery, a Franco-American, was interred in France after being shot down by a German plane.<\/p>\n

\u201cHundreds of wreaths\u201d surrounded his coffin, reported a newspaper, and three French and three U.S. aviators \u201ccarried the flag-draped coffin\u2026to the grave.\u201d<\/p>\n

WORLD WAR II<\/h3>\n

Seventy-five years ago, just days after the outbreak of World War II in Europe, a ship named Athenia was torpedoed near Ireland by a German submarine. Military and civilian crafts, including a yacht, raced to the scene to save the hundreds of people tossed into the water.<\/p>\n

\"Burial<\/a>
Burial service in New Guinea during WWII.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Among the rescuers was an American freighter captained by Joseph Gainard. He skillfully maneuvered to collect more than 200 survivors. Of the approximately 1,500 people aboard Athenia, all but 120 were pulled from the sea.<\/p>\n

Gainard\u2019s heroism was borne of personal experience: During WWI, he served on a ship that was sunk by a German sub.<\/p>\n

On the last day of 1943, flags were lowered to half-staff in Melrose, Massachusetts, to honor Gainard, a holder of the Navy Cross. The Boston Herald recorded that \u201cvolleys were fired when the flag-draped coffin was lowered into the grave.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, history repeats itself in perfect intervals. For example, 2014 continues the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, marks the centenary of the First World War and begins the observance of the 75th anniversary of World War II, which broke out in 1939. Over that span, American flags were draped over the coffins of tens… continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10,43,146,112],"class_list":["post-1503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-lessons","tag-american-flag","tag-civil-war","tag-world-war-i","tag-world-war-ii"],"yoast_head":"\nDecades of flag-draped coffins<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sometimes, history repeats itself in perfect intervals. 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