21-Gun Salute vs. Three Rifle Volleys: What Is the Difference?

A 21-gun salute is a cannon salute, the highest gun salute in the United States. It is fired for the President, former Presidents, a President-elect, foreign heads of state and the national flag. The shots you hear at most veterans' funerals are different: three volleys from a rifle firing party. Army Regulation 600-25 says that seven riflemen firing three volleys does not make a 21-gun salute, even though it adds up to 21 shots.

What is a 21-gun salute?

A 21-gun salute is a ceremonial salute fired by cannon, with one round per gun in the count. The Army's regulation on salutes defines it as the salute fired in honor of the national flag, the sovereign or chief of state of a foreign nation, a member of a reigning royal family, and the President, a former President and a President-elect of the United States.

Gun salutes always use an odd number of rounds, and the number depends on the rank or office of the person being honored. Under the regulation, the interval between rounds is 3 seconds. At a funeral it is 5 seconds, which gives the salute a slower pace.

Who receives which salute?

Army Regulation 600-25 (Table 2-1) lists the number of guns by office or rank. | Guns | Who receives it (examples from the regulation) | |---|---| | 21 | President, former President, President-elect, foreign chief of state or reigning royal family member | | 19 | Vice President, cabinet members, Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, governors, Chief Justice | | 17 | Four-star generals and admirals | | 15 | Three-star generals and admirals (lieutenant generals, vice admirals) | | 13 | Two-star generals and admirals (major generals, rear admirals, upper half) | | 11 | One-star generals and admirals (brigadier generals, rear admirals, lower half) |

A few other salutes use different counts. The regulation calls for a 21-gun national salute at noon on Memorial Day, and a salute to the Union, one gun for each state (50 guns), at noon on Independence Day.

What happens when a President dies?

For the death of a President, former President or President-elect, the regulation sets out several gun salutes. On the day after notification, one gun is fired every half hour from reveille to retreat. On the day of interment, a 21-gun salute is fired at noon at military installations that have the equipment, with guns fired at one-minute intervals. A salute equal to the number of states is also fired at retreat that day, at 5-second intervals.

The same regulation sets 19 guns for the death of the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense and certain other officials, and the guns for other officials match the number they were entitled to in life.

What are the three rifle volleys?

The three-volley salute is a separate honor. A firing party of riflemen fires three rounds each, in unison. Army guidance says the party may have three to eight riflemen, and seven is the usual number. The regulation explains the custom as coming from the old practice of stopping the fighting to remove the dead from a battlefield, with three volleys fired to show that the dead had been cared for.

Other accounts differ. The American Legion, for example, traces the custom back to Roman times, when soldiers clearing a battlefield called the fallen comrade's name three times. Either way, the volleys are a funeral custom, not a gun salute for rank.

At Arlington National Cemetery, the order is: the chaplain finishes the service, the rifle volley is fired, a bugler plays Taps, and then the flag is folded and presented to the next of kin. For a general officer, a cannon salute is fired at the end of the committal service and before the benediction.

What honors can a veteran's family get?

Federal law (10 U.S.C. 1491) requires the military to provide, on request, a funeral honors detail for any eligible veteran. The detail has at least two members of the armed forces (not in retired status) in uniform, and the VA says one is from the veteran's branch. At a minimum they fold and present the flag and play Taps, using a recording if no bugler is available. The honors are not automatic. Your funeral director or a family member must ask for them, and the sooner the better, because teams are limited.

A rifle detail is not part of that minimum. The VA says veterans service organizations may help supply details such as a rifle party, pallbearers or an escort. At Arlington, the honors depend on rank and status:

• Military funeral honors: casket team, firing party, bugler and flag presentation, for most service members.
• Full honors with escort: adds a marching element and a military band, and may include a caisson. Arlington gives these to those who reached grades such as E-9, CW-4, CW-5 and O-4 and above. Federal law also requires full honors for anyone first interred at Arlington who received the Medal of Honor or the Prisoner of War Medal.
• Cannon salute: Army, Navy and Marine Corps general officers may receive a battery cannon salute if available: 17 guns for a four-star, 15 for a three-star, 13 for a two-star and 11 for a one-star.

Our guide to military funeral honors explains who qualifies and how to request them, and the guide to Taps at a military funeral covers the bugle call.

What are ruffles and flourishes and minute guns?

These two terms come up in descriptions of high-level honors.

• Ruffles and flourishes are drum rolls (ruffles) and bugle calls (flourishes) played together before honors for a general officer or official. Arlington says one is sounded for each star of the general officer being honored, and four is the highest honor.
• Minute guns are guns fired one minute apart. Arlington says they may be used for general officers and flag officers of the Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy, if available.

Where does the tradition come from?

Gun salutes grew out of naval custom, when warships fired their guns harmlessly to show peaceful intent. Accounts of when and why the number settled at 21 vary, so treat the neat explanations you may read online as tradition rather than settled history.

Myths worth correcting

• "Every veteran gets a 21-gun salute." No. Most receive a flag and Taps, and sometimes rifle volleys.
• "Three shell casings go inside the folded flag, one for each volley." This is a folk custom. The official ceremony is the folding and presentation of the flag and Taps. The VA's care guidance for burial flags says not to use the flag to hold or carry anything, and the U.S. Flag Code says the flag should never be used as a receptacle for anything. If a detail hands you casings, you can keep them separately, for example in a display case. See our guide to folding the burial flag.
• "21 shots means a 21-gun salute." Seven riflemen firing three volleys is 21 shots, but the Army says it is not a 21-gun salute.

What to do next

1. Ask the funeral home to request military funeral honors as soon as the service is booked.
2. If you want rifle volleys, ask whether the local honors team or a veterans organization can provide a firing party.
3. For burial plans, check national cemetery eligibility and, if Arlington is a possibility, Arlington eligibility.
4. Read the overview of veterans burial benefits to see what else the VA provides.