Photo By Sgt. Samantha Hall | Michigan Army National Guard Sgt. Troy Angell provides chaplain services as a pastor...... read more read more
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“When you present the flag to someone, you feel so honored,” said Michigan Army National Guard Sgt. Troy Angell, an automated logistical specialist (92A) with the 1461st Transportation Company, ordained pastor, adjunct professor at Spring Arbor University, chaplain for the Henry Ford Allegiance Health hospital in Jackson, Michigan, and military funeral honor guardsman.
“It’s a holy moment, in a way.”
Angell dedicates his time outside his civilian and other M-Day responsibilities to performing military funeral honors for veterans in the Jackson area and across the state.
“I’d like more people in Jackson to know that this is something free to them.”
Two-man military funeral honors are available, free of charge, to all veterans who have been honorably discharged.
Angell said he travelled a long road before committing to a life in service of others. After graduating Lumen Christi Catholic High School, he spent much of his young life in the cut-throat world of corporate America. There was plenty of money to be made; however, he couldn’t ignore the void that existed in his life. So, he sought out something more and was selected for a missionary assignment in China, where he would spend a year teaching economics at the university level.
“When you’re doing what you’re actually called to do, it fills that void,” Angell said. “Less is sometimes more, they say. I miss my boat, but I feel a lot happier now.”
Angell previously served eight years as an infantryman in the Marine Corps; while in China, he was called to join the Michigan National Guard after a 13-year break in service.
“I said, ‘Sir, yes sir,’ and came back in.”
However, he remains true to his devil-dog roots. “I tell people that I get paid by the Army now,” Angell said with a grin.
He was ordained at Columbia International University in South Carolina, where he worked with the chaplain on Fort Jackson. He said he enjoyed providing services to crowds of smiling enlisted and stiff-lipped generals alike. However, even the generals would come to him after, smiling, to chat about the sermon.
Now, Angell serves as a 92A and provides funeral honors when called, having performed almost 40 ceremonies so far this year with an average of 6 funerals a month in his two years of duty.
He says it’s often difficult to maintain bearing and provide a pillar of support while offering “the final salute.” However, the moment of gratitude when the American flag is passed to the veteran’s family makes it worth the while.
If you’re interested in requesting support for a veteran’s funeral or joining the military funeral honors team, call 517-481-7900.
| Date Taken: | 04.09.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 04.09.2019 23:01 |
| Story ID: | 317420 |
| Location: | JACKSON, MICHIGAN, US |
| Web Views: | 169 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Final Salute: finding happiness in service, by SGT Samantha Hall, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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