National Guard salute veteran who died from coronavirus at Javits Center field hospital

National Guard salute veteran who died from coronavirus at Javits Center field hospital after organizing honor guard of 60 with just five minutes notice

• The veteran died of coronavirus at the Javits Center field hospital on April 18
• Command Sgt. Maj. Morgan Cady and Sgt. Maj. Nicholas Pardi, of the New York Army National Guard had decided that any veteran that died while at the field hospital would be given the appropriate honors  
• The military was given five minutes notice before the hearse arrived the next day
• About 60 military members from all services and civilians saluted the veteran’s body as it was transported out of the Javits Center and to the hearse
• Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

By Maxine Shen For Dailymail.com

Published: 06:06 BST, 24 April 2020 | Updated: 06:39 BST, 24 April 2020

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A veteran who died from coronavirus at New York City’s Javits Center field hospital was given an honor cordon arranged on just five minutes’ notice before the funeral home arrived to pick up his body. 

The veteran died on April 18 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, which the military has dubbed the Javits New York Medical Station while it is being used as a field hospital, the US Army said in a statement.  

And Command Sgt. Maj. Morgan Cady and Sgt. Maj. Nicholas Pardi, of the New York Army National Guard had decided that any veteran that died while at the field hospital would be given the appropriate honors.

But, with the high number of coronavirus deaths throughout the city, the funeral home was unable to specify when they would be able to pick up the veteran’s body. 

Then, the next day, April 19 at 3pm, the New York Army National Guardsmen on duty were suddenly informed that a hearse would be arriving at the Javits Center within minutes to retrieve the as-yet-unidentified veteran. 

New York Army National Guard Sgt. Maj. Nicholas Pardi (center) presents an American flag during a memorial service for a veteran who died of COVID-19 while a patient at the Javits Center field hospital on April 19

Army (Chaplain) Maj. Ivan Arreguin (center) and other soldiers escort the remains of a veteran who died from coronavirus after an honor cordon was arranged in five minutes

Military members from all services silently saluted the veteran’s body as he was wheeled past them from the convention center to the street where the hearse waited

In under five minutes, Command Sgt. Maj. Cady and Sgt. Maj. Pardi arranged the veteran’s military escort – composed of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, military chaplains, EMS workers and civilians – to help transfer the veteran’s body from the Javits Center to the waiting hearse. 

‘While we began to hastily put together a ceremony on the ground floor, Sergeant Major Cady and I began to notice the crowd growing,’ Pardi recalled, noting how rapidly the group had increased from the original four or five-person detail to a crowd of 60. 

The chaplain, Army Maj. Ivan Arreguin, started the honors ceremony procession, as medical staff flanked the veteran’s gurney, the Army said.  

Two Army colonels then guarded the veteran’s body, while Pardi held the Ameican flag and followed them through the building and past the saluting crowd. 

New York Army National Guard Sgt. Maj. Nicholas Pardi (right) as he prepares to lay the US flag at the veteran’s feet during the ceremony

About 60 people – servicemen and civilians – lined up and saluted the veteran’s body

A short service was conducted for the veteran before he was loaded into the waiting hearse

Arreguin then stopped at the hearse, as Pardi placed the American flag at the veteran’s feet. The chaplain then conducted a short service for the veteran, who had no family with him.  

‘It felt like I was participating in the burial of an unknown soldier known only by God,’ Arreguin said. 

Pardi then lifted the flag off the gurney and held it, as the medical staff covered the body for travel and placed it into the hearse. The procession then returned to the loading bay.   

‘Being less than ideal, for what it was, I hope we did the service member justice,’ Pardi said. 

Cady and Pardi’s unit, the Headquarters Company of the 104th Military Police Battalion, is currently helping to run the field hospital at the Javits Center in Manhattan.

The Javits Center field hospital has treated 1,044 patients with coronavirus since it opened on April 7. 

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