No 'Taps' for burials, thanks to gunsmiths
No 'Taps' for burials, thanks to gunsmiths

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By Ann DeFrange

Published: June 17, 2008

The men of the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 85 have long provided a service for other veterans. Jim Lee and Billy Renduluk did a favor for DAV members. The Daughters of the American Revolution, Malcolm Hunter Chapter, in turn, gave credit to those two men. It's a pleasant circle, formed of gunsmiths, weapons collectors, citizen patriots and the awesome network of old soldiers.

The DAV chapter performs military funerals for any qualified veteran. Aging men themselves for the most part, they travel to cemeteries and raise flags, play "Taps” and fire rifle salutes.

By last year, they were having rifle troubles. The military surplus Garands they used in the cemetery ceremonies had seen service in World War II and Korea. They were deteriorating. No member had been trained to maintain a Garand during his service. The volunteer funeral rite doesn't raise money, so they had meager funds.

Jim Lee, an instructor in gun repair at Canadian Valley Vo-Tech, and Billy Renduluk, one of his students, offered to repair the guns. When they started, three of the chapter's rifles were in working order. When they finished, 10 were in good condition again.

Last year, the DAR members gave an award for excellence in community service to Lee. Recently, this year, they honored Renduluk.

Renduluk sees it as a given expectation. "They had a need. I had a skill.”

He is a veteran of Vietnam and Desert Storm.

He has the start of a collection of guns from wars dating back to WWI, including a Garand. Lee and Renduluk were able to obtain parts from a close network of gun experts and to rebuild some pieces rather than purchase new ones.

Those guys — the ones being buried and the ones firing their burial salutes — gave a lot to the circle in which we all live. Renduluk said: "I feel somewhat obligated to honor them as well as I can.”

It's a straight shot.