It was a sweltering August day in 2013, 92 degrees with matching humidity, when Rich Darby had the moment that would change his life. Standing at Sunset Memorial Park in Danville, Illinois, the third-generation funeral service leader found himself feeling sorry for himself, sweating through his suit and counting the minutes until he could return to the air-conditioned funeral home. Then he looked to his left.
There stood the local honor guard from Danville American Legion Post 210, veterans in their 70s, 80s, and even 90s, who had been waiting at the cemetery for an hour. Sweat dripped down their temples, yet not one complained. Rich noticed something else: their uniform jackets were tattered and frayed, dry-cleaned one too many times. Their gray pants, meant to match, showed every shade of gray imaginable.
“Shame on me,” Rich thought. These men had served their country, and now they were serving again, honoring their fallen brothers and sisters, while wearing worn-out uniforms they’d often purchased themselves. That moment of reflection sparked what has become a national movement.
Rich’s first step was simple: he called the American Legion post and asked to meet. Sitting at the post bar, he proposed raising money specifically for honor guard uniforms. The veterans were initially defensive, the Legion raises its own money, after all. But when Rich asked who funded their honor guard uniforms specifically, every head dropped. There was no such fund.
That first local fundraiser raised $5,000. Then a television station in Champaign, Illinois called. The general manager’s father had been honored by a guard at his funeral, and he wanted to feature Rich’s initiative during their annual day of giving. Operation Honor Guard was born, and the $5,000 became $30,000.
Word spread through the news industry, and soon Rich was fielding calls from stations in Denver, Knoxville, and beyond. Today, Operation Honor Guard has distributed nearly $4 million to more than 200 honor guard units across the country. But as Rich discovered when he crunched the numbers, that’s just scratching the surface.
Most people assume the military or VA provides honor guard uniforms and equipment. The reality is starkly different. These volunteer veteran service organization honor guards, affiliated with American Legion posts, VFW halls, and Marine Corps League, are largely self-funded. As World War I and II veterans have died and membership has declined, these organizations struggle to keep their lights on, let alone outfit their honor guards.
The math is sobering. There are approximately 10,000 veteran service organization honor guards across the United States, averaging 12 members each. That’s 120,000 honor guard members. At roughly $800 per complete uniform. Their uniform includes a jacket, pants, shirt, hat, gloves, shoes, and winter coat. The total need exceeds $96 million.
“My jaw dropped when I put the pen to the paper,” Rich shared during our conversation. Many of these veterans, living on Social Security, pay for their own gas, dry cleaning, and uniform pieces out of pocket.
Operation Honor Guard operates on three fronts: raising money, recruiting younger members, and heightening awareness. The recruitment challenge is particularly pressing. Younger veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan aren’t drawn to the traditional American Legion or VFW post model. They’re looking for family-oriented environments, and many have told Rich directly they’re interested in honor guard service but don’t want to join “that old American Legion post in town.”
Vietnam veterans, treated poorly upon returning home, largely stayed away from veteran organizations. Now, some are beginning to engage, but the gap between the World War II generation and younger veterans remains a critical challenge.
Operation Honor Guard’s signature fundraising events are modeled after the old Jerry Lewis telethons. Partner TV stations run 13-hour events, with honor guard members working collection sites throughout their communities. It’s a “sweat equity” program where guards who participate receive larger grants.
In East Central Illinois and West Central Indiana alone, a single day of giving can raise $130,000 across nine collection sites. But Rich has learned this cash-intensive model doesn’t scale easily. Managing volunteers, counting money, and ensuring integrity across dozens of sites is exhausting and risky.
His dream solution? Partnering with Nexstar, a media conglomerate owning over 200 stations nationwide, to host an online National Day of Giving. During our conversation, Rich shared some exciting developments. He’s secured a celebrity endorsement. This celebrity has 10 million Facebook followers and his father served in Korea had an honor guard at his own funeral. While he couldn’t reveal the name yet, he assured us it will make perfect sense when announced. Additionally, General David Petraeus, former CIA Director and commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, has recorded an endorsement video now featured on the Operation Honor Guard website.
Rich’s message to funeral directors is direct: “I’m working for you.” He fields calls and emails at all hours, directing families to funeral homes and connecting them with honor guards. His ask is modest: $250 annually from every funeral home in America. Scott MacKenzie of MacKenzie Vault recently donated $1,000, covering the cost of outfitting veterans for four funerals. Rich’s ultimate goal is building a $5 million endowment fund, using the interest to run operations while directing all other donations straight to honor guards.
Beyond donations, funeral professionals can help by ordering Operation Honor Guard’s new “Colors of Honor” coloring book, a tool explaining military funerals to children and encouraging local honor guards to register in the national database Rich is building.
When asked what success looks like in five years, Rich didn’t hesitate: distributing $5 million in grants annually, building a $10 million endowment, hiring staff, running a national TV commercial, and completing a comprehensive database of every honor guard in America.
“I want to be a Folds of Honor. I want to be a Tunnel to Towers. I want to be a Wounded Warrior,” he said. “The need is that great.”
For Rich Darby, that moment of shame in a sweltering cemetery has become a mission of honor. And for the thousands of aging veterans who still show up in heat waves and snowstorms alike to render final military honors to their brothers and sisters, his work means they can do so with dignity, in uniforms that match their service.
To learn more or donate, visit OperationHonorGuard.US. Contact Rich directly at RichD@OperationHonorGuard.US or follow @HonorVets on Facebook.
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