White-gloved hands carefully lifted the American flag draped over the long casket and began to fold. Firm creases. Every edge straightened and tucked.
The process, steeped in ceremony and tradition, took minutes, not seconds, and the Navy honor guard carried out the solemn task with reverence.
As the six men and women made each of the 13 folds, the only sound was rain that fell on the roof of the small shelter in the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Cecil.
Dozens stood in the steady rain Thursday to pay final respects to a man they never knew. It’s likely that Fireman First Class Walter F. Schleiter died before many of them were even born.
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