Since last Memorial Day, more than 1,000 active-duty soldiers have been killed in war.

A photo of one of them peers out from the immaculately clean window of a curio cabinet in Sheila Richter's den.

Next to the photo of her son, who forever will be age 21, is a collection of his medals and a perfectly folded American flag that covered his coffin last June.

That flag, the Army's final public display of gratitude for the sacrifice made by Sgt. Travis Van Zoest, is one of Richter's most prized possessions. It was handed to her in a ceremony at Van Zoest's funeral at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery.

A new team of soldiers is providing military funeral honors to every eligible veteran in the state. The soldiers, in their dress blues, make a proper show of respect in what is always an emotional farewell. They ceremonially fold and present the flag to the deceased veteran's family. They sound the lonely notes of "Taps."

"That was one of the most incredible experiences of my life," Richter said. "Those people and how they care really moved me. They might not even know the person, but they care so much about their job and what they're doing. It's a real gift to the families. A real gift. They know how much that soldier sacrificed."

Van Zoest and Cpl. Curtis Mehrer, both of Bismarck, died in the same explosion June 6 in Afghanistan. They were on active duty with Alpha Battery of the North Dakota National Guard's 188th Air Defense Artillery. The state's Military Funeral Honors team, led by civilian coordinator Janette Fetch and composed of National Guard soldiers, assisted in both of those funerals.

But the team also provides honors at the funerals of any veteran in the state, at the family's request.

"People say 'Oh, Janette, you must have such a sad job,' but it's really an honor," Fetch said. "The families appreciate it. The honor of being there is so overwhelming."

Fetch's job exists because of a federal law enacted in 2000 that calls for at least two military representatives to attend the funeral of every qualifying veteran, at the request of the family. It took until last October, however, for North Dakota's Military Funeral Honors team to get up and running. Since then, the team has participated in 15 to 20 funerals a month in the Bismarck area. Most of them, obviously, are for aged veterans.

The honors team is contacted through local funeral directors, who arrange for the soldiers to appear. All active-duty military members are eligible for funeral honors. So are veterans from each branch of service, provided they weren't dishonorably discharged.

The Military Funeral Honors team works with local veterans organizations to provide pall bearers, a firing party and the color guard. Team members need to be ready to go anywhere in the state with a notice of just a day or two. They also must pass a two-week training course provided by the Old Guard Instructors at Camp Robinson, Ark.

"It's quite a commitment," Fetch said. "They need to train, they need to be an active member (of the Guard) and they need a job where they can get off with little notice. A lot of people can't do that."

Since its inception, North Dakota's Military Funeral Honors team has grown from Bismarck to include offices in Valley City, Fargo and Devils Lake. In addition to Fetch, the team's full-time members include Sgt. Krystal Mueller, in Bismarck, and Sgt. Steve Hoikkala, in Fargo.

So far, there are 90 soldiers on the honors team, and it's growing. Fetch would like to introduce a team at every Guard armory in the state. She also has reached out to the Naval Reserve, Air Guard and Marines. The goal is to have each branch contribute, so if a Navy man dies, for example, there's a representative of the Navy at his funeral.

Fetch retired from the National Guard in 2005, after 20 years of service. For more than half that time, she was a member of the honor guard.

"This job opened up, and Ithought, 'I've done that, I know how good it feels,'" Fetch said. "I wanted to be able to do this for people again."

The Military Funeral Honors team will take part in the Memorial Day services at the Veterans Cemetery, south of Mandan. Soldiers from the team will raise the flag and fire the cannon.

Here's the full schedule of Monday's events, which begin at noon:

Opening remarks: Col. Alan S. Dohrmann, deputy adjutant general, North Dakota National Guard

Flyover: N.D Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopters

Welcoming remarks: Maj. Gen. David A. Sprynczynatyk and Gov. John Hoeven

Posting of the Colors:

3 Bismarck American Legion Post #1, AMVETS Post #9

3 Bismarck Mounted Police

3 Cannon Ball American Legion Post #259

3 Disabled American Veterans Post #3

3 Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #1326

3 Fort Yates American Legion Post #164

3 Mandan American Post #40 & Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #707

3 N.D. Army National Guard Honor Platoon

3 Standing Rock Vietnam Veterans

3 Vietnam Veterans of American, Chapter 150

National Anthem: Kayde Schafer - Simle Middle School

Keynote speaker: Maj. Gen. David A. Sprynczynatyk, adjutant general, North Dakota National Guard

Memorial Day prayer: the Rev. James Shea, Church of Christ the King, Mandan

Bagpipes: Grael Gannon

Rifle volley: Mandan Combined American Legion and VFW

Taps in echo: Tim and Kayla Maedche (father-daughter trumpet duet)

21-cannon salute: N.D. National Guard Honor Platoon

Flags raised to full staff: N.D. National Guard Honor Platoon, N.D. 41st Air Force Junior ROTC and Bismarck Composite Civil Air Patrol Squadron

Retiring of colors