The Last Salute: Civil and Military Funeral, 1921-1969

CHAPTER XXII

Ambassador of Botswana, Zachariah K. Matthews
Ambassador of Spain, Mariano de Yturralde
Ambassador of Malagasy, Louis Rakotomalala
Ambassador of Poland, Edward Drozniak
Departure Ceremonies
1962-1968

When foreign dignitaries have died while in the United States, honors in keeping with their rank and national origin have been accorded them by the U.S. government. On most occasions these honors have taken the form of a departure ceremony when the body of the foreign official was returned to his homeland for burial.

Between 1962 and 1968 four foreign officials, each the ambassador of his country, died while stationed in the United States. Ambassador of Spain Mariano de Yturralde died in March 1962, Ambassador of Poland Edward Drozniak in November 1966, Ambassador of Botswana Zachariah K. Matthews in May 1968, and Ambassador of Malagasy Louis Rakotomalala in July 1968. All were in Washington at the time of their deaths, and all were returned to their countries by plane from Andrews Air Force Base.

The departure ceremony for the ambassador of Botswana on 14 May 1968 was arranged by Headquarters Command, US Air Force, and carried out by Air Force troops. The troop formations included an honor cordon, a body bearer team, a national color detail, and the personal flag bearers. (Table 14) The body was escorted by Metropolitan and Armed Forces Police from Washington to Andrews Air Force Base. When the cortege arrived, the honor cordon, lining the way to the aircraft that would carry the ambassador's body to Botswana, presented arms as the body bearers removed the casket from the hearse. With the national color detail leading and the personal flag bearers at the rear, the ambassador's casket was carried through the honor cordon and put aboard the plane. This ceremony was the simplest of the four.

Responsibility for arranging and conducting the other three departure ceremonies was assigned by the Department of Defense to the Military District of Wash-

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TABLE 14-TROOP LIST, DEPARTURE CEREMONY FOR AMBASSADOR OF
BOTSWANA ZACHARIAH K. MATTHEWS

ington. The planning for all three was based on the portions of the current policy directives outlining departure honors in State, Official, and Special Military Funerals. The three ceremonies were not identical; variations occurred in the number of troops involved and in the composition and procedures of the ceremonies. But all of them resembled departure ceremonies for high-ranking US civil and military officials, and each one was distinguished by recognition of the nationality of the ambassador being honored.

In the departure ceremony for Ambassador Mariano de Yturralde on 7 March 1962, a street cordon of 105 men lined both sides of the air base roadway leading to the ceremonial area at Andrews Field. Half an hour before the scheduled arrival of the ambassador's body from Washington, these troops were spaced at ten­step intervals facing the street. Within the ceremonial area, which was surrounded by a security cordon to keep it clear, an honor cordon of eighteen men lined the way from the point at which the hearse bearing the casket would stop to the aircraft itself. Also on hand were a band, a color detail of three men with the flag of Spain, and an eight-man body bearer team.

US Park Police escorted the cortege that took the casket of Ambassador de Yturralde from Washington to the air base. Although members of the Military District of Washington staff had coordinated this movement with the police on 6 March, the police, for reasons not apparent, completed the move twenty minutes ahead of schedule. Air police at the gate, although they had been informed of the schedule of events, sustained the error in timing when they expedited rather than delayed the movement of the cortege from the base gate to the ceremonial site. Maj. Gen. Paul A. Gavan, commanding the Military District of Washington, fortunately had passed the cortege on his way to the air base. Realizing that it was ahead of schedule, he sped to the site of the ceremony to warn the troops. Thus the confusion that might have been caused by the early arrival of the cortege was averted. But as a result of the incident, Armed Forces Police were put in the police

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HONOR CORDON FORMS FOR AMBASSADOR RAKOTOMALALA

escort in all subsequent ceremonies of this kind, and a communications vehicle was placed in the ceremonial area so that constant contact between the motorcade and the ceremonial troops could be maintained.

As the cortege moved toward the ceremonial site, the members of the street cordon presented arms individually without command as the lead vehicle of the police escort approached and ordered arms when the hearse had passed. In the ceremonial area, once the hearse had been parked in the proper position the site control officer directed the body bearers to move to the rear of the hearse. The honor cordon then presented arms and the band played the national anthem of Spain, the national anthem of the United States, and a hymn. As the hymn began, the body bearers took the casket from the hearse. With the color detail leading, the casket was carried through the honor cordon and taken aboard the aircraft. Once it was aboard, the band ceased playing and the honor cordon ordered arms, concluding the departure ceremony for Ambassador de Yturralde.

A ceremony quite similar to the one performed for the Ambassador of Spain was conducted at Andrews Field on 6 July 1968 when the body of Ambassador Louis Rakotomalala was returned to his African homeland, the Republic of Mala-

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CASKET OF AMBASSADOR RAKOTOMALALA IS CARRIED TO AIRCRAFT

gasy. The main difference between the two ceremonies was in the troops participating. No street cordon was employed in the ceremony for the African official, but the honor cordon, a joint service group, was three times the size of the cordon for the Spanish ambassador. Further, the national colors of the United States and the Republic of Malagasy led the way as a joint service body bearer team took Ambassador Rakotomalala's casket through the honor cordon to the aircraft. Since the casket was unusually cumbersome, it was supported by a movable bier. (Table 15)

Of the four ceremonies, the most elaborate took place on 3 November 1966 at the departure of the body of Ambassador Edward Drozniak of Poland. The ceremony was unusual in that it took place at night.

Troops participating included the US Army Band, a joint service honor cordon, a joint service body bearer team, a joint service color detail, and the 3d Infantry saluting battery, a total of four officers and 121 men. Supporting troops consisted of a security cordon, press cordon, parking detail, baggage detail, and Armed Forces Police in three radio vehicles. (Table 16) All troops were in their respective positions at 2125.

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TABLE 15-TROOP LIST, DEPARTURE CEREMONY FOR AMBASSADOR OF
MALAGASY LOUIS RAKOTOMALALA

TABLE 16-TROOP LIST, DEPARTURE CEREMONY FOR AMBASSADOR OF
POLAND EDWARD DROZNIAK

The cortege of American and Polish officials accompanying the body of Ambassador Drozniak to Andrews Air Force Base left the Embassy of Poland at 2050. When the cortege drove into the ceremonial area at the airfield, the troops came to attention. A parking detail guided the cars to designated places on the airstrip, and the Polish and American dignitaries were then escorted from their cars to positions for the ceremony. The body bearers, meanwhile, had moved to the rear of the hearse.

The officer in charge of the honor cordon ordered the troops to present arms. At the same time, the Army Band sounded four ruffles and flourishes and played the national anthem of Poland and the national anthem of the United States. As

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CASKET OF AMBASSADOR DROZNIAK IS CARRIED THROUGH HONOR CORDONS above. Casket o f Ambassador Drozniak is placed aboard aircraft, below.

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Diagram 53. Departure ceremony, ambassador of Poland, Andrews Air Force Base.

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