Photo By Staff Sgt. Mackenzie Gibson | (Courtesy photo) read more read more
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Once a Marine, always a Marine - a phrase that every Marine knows and embodies. They pride themselves on taking care of their own and being there for one another.
This was evident when Marines with Quantico’s Ceremonial Platoon paid respect to Capt. Harry B. Adreon as he was laid to rest at Quantico National Cemetery on Oct. 8, 2019.
MCBQ is one of the few bases that has a platoon dedicated to funeral honors. According to Cpl. Andre Bastian, the platoon sergeant with the Quantico Ceremonial Platoon, "Funeral honors take precedent over anything else going on; unit hikes, leave, snow, rain, or sleet."
The Quantico Ceremonial Platoon performs approximately 200 funeral honors every year. When Bastian got the call to perform honors for Capt. Adreon and was told there would be no family present, he felt a sense of duty to bring the entire platoon.
"Marines earn their title and deserve honors," said Sgt. Darkens Carriotte, the rifle line Non-commissioned Officer with Quantico Ceremonial Platoon. "Marines are proud to be who they are and would want to be carried by Marines to their final resting place."
At the time of his death, Capt. Adreon had no surviving family and faced interment alone.
"It is not unusual for only one to two family members to be present at a funeral, but it is very rare for there to be no family represented,' said Carriotte.
According to Carriotte, it was a privilege to the platoon to be able to participate in the intimacy of the funeral.
“It’s an honor to perform taps and pay respects to those who have fallen,” said Sgt. Tiffany Woda, a musician with the Quantico Marine Corps Band. “With no family present, I feel that I am a part of his family since I am a fellow Marine.”
Adreon graduated from Virginia Tech with a masters degree in architecture in 1952 then joined the Marine Corps as an officer working as a construction engineer. After discharge from the Marine Corps, he moved to Alexandria and began his career as an architect.
In early 2005, his wife of over fifty years, Beatrice "Bea" Adreon, passed away and was buried in the Quantico National Cemetery; the same place her loving husband would someday come to rest.
“He and his wife were always traveling,” said Peter L. Hause, the funeral director at Quantico National Cemetery, and good friends with Harry for a few years before his passing. “She was truly the love of his life.”
Capt. Adreon's funeral honors represent a principle that Marines hold dear to their hearts; once a Marine, always a Marine.
“Every Marine’s funeral carries equal importance,” said Cpl. Brannen Kelly, a member of the Quantico Ceremonial Platoon. “I really sensed the sympathy in our platoon. The Marine Corps has been, and always will be, a brotherhood.”
| Date Taken: | 10.08.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 10.22.2019 13:53 |
| Story ID: | 348598 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 184 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Funeral Honors: Rememeberance through Ceremonies, by SSgt Mackenzie Gibson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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