Brandon Merano TV

10/11/2026

A great day at Negangard's Pumpkin Patch, followed by a mandatory stop at the famous Philo Tavern to watch that Fighting Illini win 🎃 🍒 Wonderful fall afternoon thanks to these small businesses! Make sure to check them out 👍🏼

10/09/2026

On this week's SITREP...... 🇺🇸

10/07/2026

Get your questions in!!

10/06/2026

I didn't know this until 10 years into my military service... Let's keep the tradition going...

🇺🇸 TEACHING TUESDAY: What do “military funeral honors” actually mean?

Many Americans picture a full Honor Guard, r***e volley, color guard and multiple veterans standing graveside when they think of a military funeral.

But that isn’t always what a family receives.

For an eligible veteran, the government-provided military funeral detail generally includes at least two uniformed service members, the folding and presentation of the American flag, and the sounding of Taps.

The fuller ceremony many families recognize often depends on volunteer veteran Honor Guard members who step in to provide additional traditions, including r***e volleys, color guards, pallbearers and a larger ceremonial presence.

It's exactly why Operation Honor Guard exists.

Across the country, many of these volunteer Honor Guard members are getting older. Many purchase their own uniforms, equipment and fuel, and they continue showing up in the heat, cold, rain and snow because they believe one thing:

No veteran should take their final journey without the honor they earned.

Operation Honor Guard is working to equip these teams, recruit the next generation of volunteers and preserve these traditions for the families who will need them tomorrow.

This isn’t about making a funeral bigger.

It’s about making sure a veteran’s final salute never becomes a tradition America simply doesn’t have enough people left to perform.

🇺🇸 Stand Tall. Honor All.

Learn more or support the mission at
www.operationhonorguard.us

10/06/2026

Excited to be MC for this event for the second year. Mission K9 Warrior is a fantastic organization with a great man behind it. Looking at you Dave Hughes. 👀 🇺🇸

Thanks for what you do for our veterans.

10/05/2026

Every military farewell tells a story of service, sacrifice and a life worth remembering. 🇺🇸

Operation Honor Guard will be sharing a series exploring the funeral traditions of each military branch..... the customs, symbols and meaning behind the final salute.

We want to help you understand what you’re witnessing, why it matters to the families left behind and why these traditions deserve to be carried forward.

For a grieving family, that farewell can become a memory they hold onto for the rest of their lives.

Follow along, share what you learn and help us keep these traditions alive.

Stand Tall. Honor All.

www.operationhonorguard.us

10/04/2026

Ahh the annual Curtis Orchard trip! 🍁 🍎 r

10/02/2026

I understood what military funeral honors meant when we buried my friend Brian Murray in 2017.

Brian was a friend and crewmember I served with in the Middle East. We flew missions over Afghanistan together, and he died shortly after we returned. It was hard to comprehend that someone I’d just shared a deployment with was gone.

Our unit did a flyover at his funeral. I’d spent so much time aboard those aircraft as a KC-135 boom operator, but hearing one overhead that day felt different. This one... was for Brian.

I still think about it. Having our unit there meant a lot to me, and it made me realize how much those final honors can mean to a family trying to get through one of the hardest days of their lives.

You can’t fix their grief. But you can show up. You can take the time to fold the flag carefully, play Taps and give their loved one a final salute. Those are moments families remember long after the funeral is over.

That experience is a big part of why I’m so passionate about Operation Honor Guard today.

There are volunteers across this country who have been showing up for veteran funerals for decades. Many are now in their 70s and 80s, still standing in the heat or cold because they believe their fellow veterans deserve that respect. Some pay for their own uniforms and travel just to be there.

We owe them some help. And we need younger veterans to join them so families can continue to count on someone being there.

When I talk about preserving this tradition, I think about Brian. I think about that flyover and how grateful I was, our unit could honor him that way.

I’m attaching a video I made from our time in Afghanistan. Looking back at it means a lot to me, especially knowing what came afterward. I wanted to share it so you could see a little of the time and the people behind this story.

I miss you, Brian. I’m glad we got to serve together.

And apologies.... had to remove the music for copyright purposes.

—Brandon Merano
Operation Honor Guard
www.operationhonorguard.us