In 1974, Al Giesting organized the Batesville Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3183 Honor Guard to show respect for those who served in the military. Since that time, the group has participated in hundreds of funerals.

Recently, VFW members unveiled a plaque honoring the late U.S. Army Air Corps World War II veteran.

Denis Schutte, VFW Honor Guard member, stresses that Giesting “would never hold a grudge against anyone .... He was a good ol’ boy.”

Fellow member Albert Prickel remembers, “His main joy was talking about his career in service .... All you had to do was sit back and listen. He was so devoted to his time in service.”

According to his friends, Giesting entered the military June 10, 1942. He trained at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind.; Keesler Field, Miss.; Republic Co., Laquardia Field and Mitchell Field, N.Y.; and Westover Field, Mass.

From July 1, 1943, to Sept. 28, 1945, the former Batesville resident served overseas in England and Belgium. He was awarded the European Theater Ribbon, Bronze Star, Good Conduct Medal, Presidential Citation and Oak Leaf Clusters. After serving 40 months, Giesting was discharged Oct. 9, 1945.

Schutte, along with Cliff Meer and Bill Giesting, are the only three surviving members of the original 22 who made up the honor guard. “The first thing we did was the Memorial Day Parade in 1974,” he recalls. “Gus Kolb was the first funeral, and it was really cold in February 1975 .... 10 men (in the honor guard) turned out, and we had a high school bugler.”

Originally, members provided their own white shirts and blue pants, but Giesting was determined to get uniforms for them. “He sold tip boards for $3 each, and made $9 a week,” Schutte reports.

Eventually, he saved enough to purchase uniforms and boots. “Later we got jackets .... 10 or 15 years later, we got heavy winter coats.”

The technical sergeant participated as an honor guard member in 331 military funerals and served as chaplain in 136. He also was the folder of the U.S. flag at 130 military funerals and marched in 154 parades.

“He held out and participated in the honor guard way up into his 80s,” Prickel recalls.

In his later years, Giesting “couldn’t hardly get out of the car, but thought he had to be there,” Schutte adds.

In the late 1970s, Prell-Bland American Legion Post 271 began to participate in the honor guard and joined the VFW at funerals.

“We do the colors, and then we have our chaplain service .... The American Legion does the firing, three valleys of fire followed by ‘Taps,’” he notes. Weigel Funeral Home bought an electronic bugle for the two organizations that is used for the funerals.

Prickel states, “Anyone in service is entitled to a military funeral.” His friend remarks, “All they have to do is request that.”

Even though St. Louis Catholic, St. John’s United Church of Christ, Huntersville, and Holy Family Catholic cemeteries are the main locations for them to perform the military rites, they have also traveled to Brookville, Sunman, New Alsace, Morris and other areas.

They participate in about 20 funerals per year, and the men donate their services. “People think we’re getting paid, but we aren’t,” they reveal.

Besides the three original members and Prickel, there are eight other active VFW color guard participants: Leon Pulskamp, Bill “Buzz” Weberding, Andy Weisenbach, Emil Kuntz, Mike Baumer, Tom Williams, Bill Wintz and Richard Eckstein.

Prickel reveals, “As a group, we feel he (Giesting) was so outstanding in all that he did not only for the post, but for the honor guard.”

Diane Raver can be contacted at 812-934-4343, Ext. 114; or diane.raver@ batesvilleheraldtribune.com.