My father, Francis J. Danko, was buried in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery where several other members of my family are buried . The funeral procession was met by a military honor guard who played “Taps”, folded the flag that covered my father’s casket, and presented the flag to my stepmother . Father Anthony Gulley led the prayers at the gravesite . One of the prayers he led, fittingly, was the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace . Where there is hatred, let me sow love;Â where there is injury, pardon;Â where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. Â For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;Â and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen
 
The Funeral Procession
SOURCE: The Funeral Procession (Albany, Albany County, New York); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 09 January 2012.
Taps
SOURCE: Â Taps (Albany, Albany County, New York); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 09 January 2012.
Folding the Flag
SOURCE:  Folding the Flag (Albany, Albany County, New York); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 09 January 2012.
Presenting the Flag to the Widow
SOURCE: Presenting the Flag to the Widow (Albany, Albany County, New York); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 09 January 2012.
Copyright © 2012 by Stephen J. Danko
