Writing an obituary for a veteran
For someone who served, the service belongs in the second or third sentence, not buried at the end — it is how a great many people knew them. The facts come off one document, and getting them right matters to everyone who wore the same uniform.
What changes, and what stays the same
- Rank, branch and years of service go in the announcement or immediately after it: “Sergeant First Class Robert Lee Hastings, U.S. Army (Ret.), 64, of Fayetteville”.
- Write the rank in full the first time — “Master Sergeant”, not “MSgt” — so civilian readers follow it; abbreviations are fine afterwards.
- The DD Form 214 is the source for rank at separation, dates, unit and decorations. The funeral home usually has a copy; the branch's records office can supply one.
- Decorations are listed highest first, on a line of their own: “Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman Badge”.
- If military honors will be rendered at the service, say so in the notice: “Military honors will follow at the graveside.”
- “(Ret.)” after the rank is customary for a retiree; a veteran who served a single enlistment is “a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps”.
A worked example
Sergeant First Class Robert Lee Hastings, U.S. Army (Retired), 64, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, died on August 3, 2026, at the Fayetteville VA Medical Center.
Bob was born on February 10, 1962, in Wilmington, North Carolina, to Lee and Dorothy Hastings. He graduated from Pender High School in 1980 and enlisted in the Army that June.
He earned his jump wings at Fort Benning in 1981 and spent the next twenty-four years with the 82nd Airborne Division, making 312 jumps and serving in Grenada, Panama, the Gulf, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. He retired in 2004. His decorations include the Bronze Star with V device, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge. He married Linda Carver, a nurse at Womack Army Hospital, in 1985.
After the Army, Bob taught JROTC at Terry Sanford High School for eighteen years and sent more than two hundred cadets on to the academies and the service. He raised the colors at the Cumberland County Veterans Park every morning for a decade.
He is survived by his wife of forty-one years, Linda; his children, Robert Jr. (Amy) Hastings and Sarah (Tom) Hastings-Mills; his grandchildren, Lee, Grace and Carver; and his brother, William (Jane) Hastings.
A funeral service will be held at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church, 701 Westmont Drive, on Tuesday, August 11, at 10:00 a.m. Interment with full military honors will follow at Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project.
If you cannot confirm a decoration, leave it out rather than guess. Veterans notice, and a correction after printing is the one thing families ask us to fix most often.
Where the service facts come from
The DD Form 214 — the discharge paper — carries the rank held at separation, the dates of service, the last unit, and the decorations and campaign medals awarded. Most families have a copy in a drawer; the funeral home will ask for one anyway, because it is what the cemetery and the honor guard need. If it cannot be found, the National Personnel Records Center supplies a replacement to next of kin, and the funeral director will usually make that request for you.
For a service member who died on active duty, the casualty assistance officer confirms every detail, and nothing should be printed that has not gone past them.
The honors, and how to write them in the notice
Military funeral honors are rendered by a detail from the branch: the flag over the casket, three rifle volleys if a detail is present, Taps, and the folding and presentation of the flag to the next of kin. The obituary does not describe all that — one line does the work: “Interment with full military honors will follow at Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery.”
In the printed program there is room to set the honors out in order under the committal, with a short line under each so that guests who have never seen it know what is happening and when to stand. Our military funeral program page covers the wording, and order of service for a funeral has the sequence.
Questions families ask
- How do you write a veteran's rank in an obituary?
- In full on first use, with the branch and “(Ret.)” for a retiree: “Sergeant First Class Robert Lee Hastings, U.S. Army (Retired)”. Abbreviations are fine after that. Someone who served one enlistment is usually “a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps”.
- Where do I find the service record for an obituary?
- The DD Form 214 — the discharge paper — gives rank at separation, dates, unit and decorations. The funeral home usually needs a copy anyway; the National Personnel Records Center will send a replacement to next of kin.
- How are medals listed in an obituary?
- Highest first, on a line of their own: Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge. If a decoration cannot be confirmed, leave it out rather than guess.
- Should the obituary mention military honors at the funeral?
- Yes, in one line — “Interment with full military honors will follow at …” — so that guests know to expect the rifle volley and Taps.
This page is offered for informational purposes only. It is not legal, medical or funeral-directing advice, and no warranty is given as to its accuracy, completeness or fitness for any particular purpose. Where a detail matters — a date, a rank, a service time — confirm it with the funeral home, the church or the family before it is printed.
The other situations
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