Former U.S. Marines from the Greeley area call out “rolling” as they line up along a street for a burial service at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver.
In a row of six, seven or eight, the men are dressed in black pants, white shirts and a red, rectangular hat known as a garrison cap. They are honor guard members in a veterans service organization known as the Union Colony Marines Detachment 1093, preparing a rifle salute for an honorably discharged veteran prior to burial at Fort Logan, the resting place of more than 160,000 veterans and eligible family members.
Saying “rolling” — a reference to the approaching vehicles — is their cue to get ready for the burial service, which is one of many the honor guard will participate in throughout the day. There is no noise in the cemetery. Not a sound as the vehicles carry family, friends and the remains of the veteran drive up to a shelter where the brief but solemn service will be held. The riflemen stood on an adjacent road about 60 feet away…