Washington woman enjoys role as lone female member of Post 175 Honor Guard
When Marie Smith dons her honor guard uniform as a member of the Edwin S. Linton American Legion Post 175 in Washington, she does so with two unique distinctions: she’s the only woman in the group, and she’s the youngest.
The 53-year-old uses her talent as the post’s main bugler as part of her role in the honor guard.
“We do funerals for veterans that have passed away. We do the 21-gun salutes and play ‘Taps’,” said Smith. “I take care of that.”
Dennis Bailey, honor guard commander, said it means quite a bit to have Smith as what he believes is the first female member of the post’s honor guard.
“It certainly completes us as a unit,” Bailey said. “We’re all in it together, brothers and sisters in arms. That’s the way we treat her, like a brother and sister in arms. There’s no differential.”
Smith, a 1990 graduate of Waynesburg High School, is a veteran of the U.S. Navy as part of Operation Desert Storm, serving in many locations across the globe such as Egypt, Spain Greece, Puerto Rico and Saudi Arabia.
“We spent a lot of time in the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea,” she said. “I visited a lot of places. It was really fun and interesting.”
During her four years in the Navy, Smith served for a year on the USS Merrimack, which has since been decommissioned. Smith said military service has been a family affair, with many members serving in at least one branch of the service.
Bailey, who spent 31 years in the U.S. Air Force, said the honor guard has 17 members with the oldest member being 78 years old. They represent a wide variety of branches of the service with folks from the Navy, Air Force and Army. One of the members is a retired lieutenant colonel, and Bailey is a retired chief.
“They want to give back. It’s all volunteer, and they’re out there doing it for the good of the veteran families,” he said.
The group attended 92 funerals in 2024, and participated in a number of other events.
On Monday, members of the honor guard will take part in a 10 a.m. ceremony at the legion and then head out to other services throughout the community.
“We go to three to five different graveyards, and we do the 21-gun salute and play ‘Taps,’ then we come back to the post and finish the rest of the ceremony,” Smith said.
She hopes to continue to be a member of the honor guard for many years to come.
“It’s really nice,” Smith said. “It really is.”