Final Call to Duty: Inside the Nurses Honor Guard

Retired nurses and volunteers ensure that fallen colleagues receive a hero’s farewell.

(L–R) Janie Williams, Rhonda Floyd, Kim Carter, Sabrina Blackwelder, Libby Davis, Kim Miller, Chris Karms, and Elaine Howard at a memorial service for a local nurse in Mobile, Ala. Courtesy of Libby Davis

We often say, “Thank you for your service” to members of the military and veterans who have already served. Police officers often hear the same thing. And there are special ceremonies for members of those groups who have passed on.

But there’s one group also on the first line of defense between life and death that doesn’t get the same treatment.