The Army says it will continue the suspension of horse-drawn funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery after roughly a year of no operations, leaving some family members with a tough decision on how they want to honor their service members.
The timeline for when those services will resume is unclear, officials said Friday. The original suspension followed a string of military working horse deaths, reports of unsanitary and potentially life-threatening living conditions, as well as congressional scrutiny directed at the Army's 3rd Infantry Regiment, also known as “The Old Guard” — the service's premier ceremonial unit, which is in charge of conducting the horse-drawn services.
The Army and Arlington National Cemetery officials on Friday assured the public that there were no families awaiting services due to the suspension. After Military.com contacted one family that was waiting for caisson services, those officials initially doubled down on the claim, only to walk it back days later.
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“We apologize for any confusion last week and regret any further emotional stress that families awaiting the caisson may have endured,” Kerry Meeker, the chief of public affairs for Arlington National Cemetery, told Military.com via email on Tuesday. “We will continue to review our case records to determine if there are any remaining families who have…
