3-Gun Volley Salute, Taps and an unforgettable funeral

(photo by John Tipton / The Porterville Recorder)

I attended Jacqueline's and Alex's funeral today. It was beautiful and heart breaking.

I was surprised to see that they were both buried together -- in the same coffin, which was draped with two American flags.

I had heard of this kind of thing only once but it was a mother and young infant. But, apparently the two youngsters were burned to death . The car exploded in flames after the accident and it was almost impossible to tell who was who.

Sunday night's service had more than 1,000 people there -- many of them were high school kids. Jacqueline and Alex were both active in sports at Monache High and she was also a cheerleader there. She was so full of life and so outgoing!

There was plenty of representation from the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marines and they had full military honors -- complete with a 3-gun volley salute.

Taps always gets to me. It gave me chills as they played it.

As the service ended, 17 white helium-filled balloons (she was 17) and 21 red ones (his age) were let go and the Chaplain announced that the service had concluded. One of the mothers started wailing loudly for her baby. It was a very touching and emotional moment.

Such a sad day for the families and friends of Alex and Jacqueline. My heart goes out to them.