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Retired Army Sgt. Maj. Bill Neuiszer is one of the miliatary veterans who volunteer one day a week with the Memorial Services Detachment unit that provides full military burial honors at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Retired Army Sgt. Maj. Bill Neuiszer (center) helps gather shell casings from the rifle volleys during a funeral service. The shell casings are given alongside a folded U.S. Flag to surviving family members. Neuiszer is one of the miliatary veterans who volunteer one day a week with the Memorial Services Detachment unit that provides full military burial honors at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Retired Army Sgt. Maj. Bill Neuiszer is one of the miliatary veterans who volunteer one day a week with the Memorial Services Detachment unit that provides full military burial honors at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Retired Army Sgt. Maj. Bill Neuiszer (left) takes a break after servicing a funeral service at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. He is one of the miliatary veterans who volunteer one day a week with the Memorial Services Detachment unit that provides full military burial honors at the cemetery.

Each week the men and women of the Memorial Services Detachment pay tribute to veterans laid to rest at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Among the military veterans is retired Army Sgt. Maj. Bill Neuiszer, the Monday Squad Leader who leads the 18-member squad.

The squad files out of a white bus to one of five committal shelters, often overflowing with family and friends for a veteran’s funeral. Neuiszer leads the squad, clad in white shirts, black trousers and for many, spit-shined black shoes.

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They make a right face turn, assume a firing position and fire three volleys with M-1 rifles. Each blast echos across the green grounds lined with rows of white marble markers. After the last strains of Taps fade, Neuiszer collects three spent casings with white-gloved hands, gives the casings to a cemetery representative who presents the shells to the family. The shells represent duty, honor and country.

“It’s what a veteran is supposed to have at a minimum,” Neuiszer said. “Whatever needs to be done to accomplish the mission, that’s what we do.”

Neuiszer is one of more than 100 volunteers who provide cemetery honors at funerals. The detachment’s motto is “veterans honoring veterans.”

There are five squads, one for each day of the week. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., they operate out of the cemetery’s public information center at the Harry Wurzbach Road entrance. After a recent shift, a radio used to communicate with cemetery personnel crackled as Neuiszer and fellow members gathered in the squad room.

The squad leader spoke about a concerning issue: how age is thinning their ranks of Vietnam-era veterans. In recent years, the squad has performed three-volley salutes for its own. They provided the honors for Navy veteran Tom Ballinger, a member who died last year. A few years ago, they rendered the long-honored custom for Neuiszer’s friend Mike Malloy, a member of VFW Post 8541 and Chapter XV Special Forces Association.

“I’d like to inspire younger generation of veterans to join us,” Neuiszer said, “because we’re aging out. We’re getting old and we need new blood.”

A memorial plaque on the wall lists the names of members who have died since the detachment began.

Retired Army Sgt. Maj. Bill Neuiszer is one of the miliatary veterans who volunteer one day a week with the Memorial Services Detachment unit that provides full military burial honors at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Retired Army Col. Roberto “Bob” Garcia founded the detachment on Dec. 7, 1991, after pentagon budget cuts ended funerals with military honors for veterans. Neuiszer said the detachment is modeled after the Fort Smelling Memorial Rifle Squad, the first all-volunteer rifle squad that has provided military honors since 1979.

After Neuiszer retired several years ago, a friend, retired Army Sgt. Maj. Ron Bowren, suggested that he visit the Monday squad and see them in action. He said as soon as he observed them performing their duties, he knew he wanted to join the group. It was a return to camaraderie and discipline, all part of his 30-year Army career.

Drafted in January 1970, Neuiszer served as a chaplain’s assistant and a special forces engineer sergeant. The Houston native wasn’t interested in talking about himself, his focus was about the group and its future.

Neuiszer introduced retired Air Force Master Sgt. Porfirio “Monte” Montellano, 69, a Wednesday squad member who volunteers to plays taps for Monday services. Montellano, who was attached to the Texas Air National Guard at Kelly Air Force Base, has played with the detachment for a year.

“I feel honored to be able to provide that service,” he said.

Graham Wright, assistant cemetery director, said the detachment either supplements Department of Defense honors if a military rifle team is not available or performs rifle volleys, the playing of Taps, and the folding and presentation of the American flag. Wright said the detachment had provided more than 40,000 services as of last year.

“They’re here every day no matter what,” Wright said. “Rain, shine, snow, sleet, hail, it doesn’t matter. They’re out here performing those honors for individuals who have given so much for their country and passed on and to make sure they have their final respects given to them.”

The squad leader pointed outside the center where construction will begin on an honor guard building, which will house the detachment and DOD honor guard. Currently, the information center serves as their home, where the squads can relax in between duties and spin war stories, tell tall tales and spout pride about their favorite NFL football teams.

But when the members file out for a funeral, they are silent. They carry memories of old comrades, many who performed through serious illnesses. Once in place, their focus is maintaining military bearing as they raise their rifles and fire in unison.

The veterans and Neuiszer remain committed to the men and women who served their country, intent on ensuring that no one is forgotten. And they want families to remember the detachment’s reverence for their departed loved ones.

Vincent T. Davis started at the San Antonio Express-News in 1999 as a part-time City Desk Editorial Assistant working nights and weekends while attending San Antonio College and working on the staff of the campus newspaper, The Ranger. He completed a 3-month fellowship from the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute at Vanderbilt University in 2003 and earned his bachelors degree in communication design from Texas State University in 2006.