Texas Post Honors Deceased Vet

On Feb. 25, at VFW Post 5621 in Liberty, Texas, Erica R. Swain received a U.S. flag on behalf of the Swain family, for Terrence "Terry" P. Swain of New Haven, Connecticut., who died during the height of COVID.

Terry served in the Navy during the Cold War era and during the Lebanon crisis, followed by several years in the Reserves.

Often when veterans pass, an Honor Guard at the funeral folds the flag that is draped over the coffin and presents it to a close relative. Terry's family, most notably his son, Kevin, of Deland, Florida, never received a flag honoring his father's military service.

Recently, Kevin was visiting his cousin, John, whose father had also served in the military and died during COVID. John had received his father's flag and displayed it proudly. This began Kevin's pursuit of a flag to honor his own father.

Kevin didn't want just any flag, he wanted one specifically for his dad. John, who knew of Erica's affiliation with the VFW, reached out to ask if she knew how to get that for him. Erica then reached out to a VFW Auxiliary member who owns funeral homes to ask if he had an extra flag.

After providing him with Terry's DD-214, Erica was given a flag. When asked about arranging the ceremony, Erica's first thought was, "What ceremony?" Since Kevin lives in Florida, the flag was given to Erica for him.

When she reached out to James Rightmire, the Honor Guard coordinator for the Liberty VFW Post, James explained the how and why and made arrangements with another veteran right away to do a ceremony, to honor a man he didn't know.

Erica traveled to Florida to deliver the flag that Liberty, Texas, veterans folded and presented in honor of a man from Connecticut. Kevin was moved that the Liberty VFW Post showed so much dignity and respect for his father.

Edited for length and style, this story was written and submitted by VFW Post 5621 Quartermaster Rose Andrade.

This article is featured in the 2026 March issue of Checkpoint. If you're a VFW member and don't currently receive the VFW Checkpoint, please contact VFW magazine at [email protected].