WW II Father passed last year, what can I do with the 21 salute blanks?

[Snattlerake]

I have the VFW graveside salute brass and now people think I"m creative and want a piece of brass either engraved or in some kind of display they will eventually not sell in a garage sale and end up at a Goodwill store.

Really guys, I've searched the net and all the stuff I've found I personally don't like.

I've also found some things I do like. My dilemma is what would others like.

Assuming I'm that creative, which of these would you keep as a memento of a close relative?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Please decide which you would prefer or insert your own ideas, comments.

Only about 3 or 4 people have expressed interest but they are very close relatives.

Thanks!

 

[xseler]

#5 is what I envisioned before I even saw the pictures.

Good luck in your choice.


/

 

[jmike314]

Shadow Box. Definitely. I really like that.
I have 2 flags and 3 casings from my father's services. My sister and I have been trying to figure out what to do with them.
Thank you for posting this.

 

[rockchalk06]

If I was making it for just one person, I'd go with #5, but behind glass on a black soft pillow with something else like a patch or coin. For family, it depends on how many. #2 is sharp!

 

[rc508pir]

I like 1 and 2, but with both having 3 cases

 

[Aries]

I like #1, but any of them are nice.

Here is a story that blew my mind. My great-uncle was buried this past summer with military honors. After the 21 gun salute, we saw the soldiers picking up all the empty brass cartridges off the ground, and they immediately left to return to Ft. Sill. The family had lunch together after, and my cousin (his daughter) mentioned that she and her daughter had mentioned how much they'd have liked to had the brass cases to keep.

So that night, I thought why not... and found a website for Ft. Sill to see if I could find an email address to ask about the cases. I knew it was a long shot, but finally found an email address for the department that handles funerals, etc. and sent an email that I think actually went to someone in Kentucky. I told them when and where the funeral was, my great-uncles name, and that they had mentioned that they were out of Ft. Sill, and asked if there was any possibility of getting the cases. I sent it off expecting not to hear anything back, or at best that it wasn't possible to get them.

The next morning I had an email from somebody in Ft. Sill saying they were trying to locate the specific cases. In subsequent email exchanges, they mentioned that the cases should have been included with the flag she was given, but I was thinking I didn't see any opportunity from the time they picked them up until it was presented to her for them to be put with it. Turns out, they include a few from some previous funeral, but not the specific ones from that funeral.

But a week or two later they delivered and presented three of them to my cousin. Obviously, I have no way of knowing for certain if they are specifically from that funeral or not, but I don't really care. I assume they were, and in any case it was a tremendous gesture to go to that trouble, and it was very touching for my cousin.

If I understood right, I think it was civilian employees who arranged for the funeral and getting the cartridge cases to her. But I wanted to take this opportunity to give a shout out to the U.S. Army and everyone involved at Ft. Sill for getting the brass cases to her. I was completely stunned that A) They responded to my email at all, B) that it was less than 12 hours later, and C) that anyone would go to the trouble of finding and having them delivered and presented to her. I was extremely grateful, and I know she was too.

(I've never been in the military, so my apologies if I got any of the vernacular or details wrong)

I'd probably be interested in buying a 2-3 of #1, if you're making to sell or could share where you found them?

Mostly I wanted to say how incredibly grateful I am to the military and everyone involved in answering my request.

 

[Perplexed]

I like No. 2. Simple, understated yet lovely to behold. No extraneous inscriptions needed.

Or No. 1 with just the person’s name and DoB/DoD. No quotations.

 

[harley128]

I like no 5...........

 

[Catt57]

Just an idea.

 

[Fyrtwuck]

1, 2, 3, and 4 give you the flexibility to present the brass to more than one person. 5 would be good for a single family member or friend. #2 would be my choice.

A friend of mine called one day and asked if I could do something for the family of one of his friends who recently passed. I asked what he needed and he told me that his friend had been cremated and asked if I could put some of his ashes inside rifle brass and make bullets to give to the family.

I happened to have fifty rounds of 30.06 brass and some bullets, so I put the ashes in the case and he presented them to the family. I was told that they were intending to engrave the brass with the name and dates.