Most Wednesdays and Thursdays, Steve Schuler of Peotone is assisting funerals at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood – as part of two different memorial squads.

Several years ago, Schuler, now 77, visited Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery with his wife Ruth and wound up as part of the cemetery’s memorial squad.

Schuler said the day he and Ruth were there, a funeral for a soldier who’d been killed was in progress, and “there was quite a crowd of people there.”

As the couple stood in the back and watched, Schuler observed the Memorial Squad and thought, “I could do that.”

So Schuler requested information before they left, he said. He serves the cemetery’s squad on Thursdays and is honored to do so.

“I feel I’ve been blessed just to even be still alive,” Schuler said.

“Military honors consist of three rifle volleys, taps, and folding and presentation of the American Flag,” according to the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery Memorial Squad website.

Schuler also is part of the Honor Guard with Wilmington VFW Post 5422, which he joined when he learned it needed volunteers.

He assists the squad leader at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery on Thursdays and is part of the team that fires the three rifle volleys with the Wilmington VFW Post 5422 on Wednesdays, Schuler said.

He considers his current service part of his overall service to the U.S.

“I just wanted to honor our veterans – their time, and their blood sweat and tears. They gave their all for their country,” Schuler said.

He said he joined the U.S. Marines at age 17 in 1966, served until 1969 and earned three Purple Hearts: One from a bullet and two from mortar attacks. But he’s not the only Purple Heart recipient on the memorial squads, he said.

“My Purple Hearts came all on one day,” Schuler said. “But a lot of guys saw a lot more action and had it a lot rougher than I did.”

Nine Marines from Schuler’s platoon were killed in Vietnam, including a “good buddy” from boot camp and advanced training, Schuler said.

“He was killed on Mother’s Day there, 1967,” Schuler said. “You don’t forget something like that.”

Schuler said the Memorial Squads always need volunteers, male and female, and volunteers don’t need to be veterans.

“We just want people to have a heart for the veterans when they come out and honor our veterans,” Schuler said.

Schuler said the average age of the volunteers is 75 to 77.

“We’ve got some guys out there in their 90s,” Schuler said. “We’ve got some guys really struggling with walking. But they come out there every week.”

Schuler said the VFW Memorial Squad is “really shorthanded.”

“The VFW could really use some help there,” Schuler said. “We’re all getting older. And we’ve all got some kind of health issue. But we plug along. We do what we can do.”

For more information, visit abrahamlincolnmemorialsquad.org and vfwpost5422.org.