Reply #7: It's an ancient ceremony... [View All]

[RoyGBiv]

It dates back to the Roman Empire as a ritual used during the funeral ceremonies of military leaders.

Originally, the horse was hooded with its stirrups inverted and a sword placed through them to symbolize that no one would ride that horse again. This was derived from the notion that a well-trained horse could only serve one master. The horse would then be killed and buried with the dead leader, so that he wouldn't have to walk in the afterlife.

Abraham Lincoln was the first American President honored with the ritual. The backward facing boots replaced the sword. Kennedy's funeral copied that of Lincoln, and it appears from what I saw today that Reagan's services were a near copy of that.

OnEdit: Forgot to add this...

Tradition says the missing man formation began with the honoring of the fall of Baron von Richthofen, the Red Baron. It was then used by the British to honor fallen flyers. It has been adopted by the United States, and heads-of-state, which would include all Presidents, are supposed to be given the honor.