Dee Erwin releases the first of 21 doves during the funeral service at Bay Pines National Cemetery for her father, Leonard Erwin, an Army veteran. The birds are owned by Pete Burrage, right. Burrage released the rest of the birds together from the cage in front of him. Also at the service are Diane Belmont, left; Ruby Erwin, the widow of Leonard Erwin; Len Erwin, Sgt. Erwin’s son; and military chaplain Richard Quinn.
Sgt. Leonard Erwin
Jan. 16, 1914 — Aug. 21, 2004
Eight soldiers and 21 white doves reported for duty.
Sgt. Leonard Erwin, a World War II dogface who fought in Africa and Europe, deserved as much. How he would have appreciated the 21-gun and 21-bird salute, with Frances bearing down.
"The Army meant everything to him," said his daughter, Dee.
The soldiers, an honor guard drawn from the 3rd Infantry Division, had recently returned from Baghdad and will soon go back for 18 more months. The day before Erwin's service at Bay Pines National Cemetery, they were ordered to get out of the hurricane's way and retreat to Fort Stewart, Ga.
The doves, a variety of pigeon with homing instincts, belong to Pete Burrage, who operates Burrage Dove Ranch in Riverview. They do funerals and burials. They also do weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, grand openings and family reunions within 100 miles of their Riverview loft.
They have some war stories of their own.
Because of the evacuation order, the honor guard had been canceled. Then the sergeant's son, Len, told Chaplain Richard Quinn how much the Army had meant to their 90-year-old dad.
So Quinn and seven soldiers, all with Iraq combat patches on their right sleeves, decided to make a detour past Bay Pines on their way out of Florida. They had to switch into dress uniforms in a van, bumping elbows as they helped each other fasten brass buttons. The M-16 rifles were stashed in the back.
The bird release meant almost as much to Dee as the honor guard. "I thought it would be a beautiful way to kiss Dad goodbye," she said. "They fly toward heaven. That's what I love."
Burrage has worked in the funeral business since he was 16. He's semiretired, calling himself a part-time "private embalmer" and full-time pigeon trainer. Since he started four years ago, he estimates he has released his birds at 400 funerals. His prices range from $50 to $500, depending on how many doves go - as few as one or as many as 50. "I guess I'm in what you call the funeral enhancement business," he said.
His doves have done as many as three runs on a single Easter Sunday. One flock was shaken up by fireworks after being released on the Fourth of July and took five days to get home from Clearwater. During another run, one of his birds was lost in action, presumably attacked by a hawk, a common pigeon predator. But he showed up with a broken wing four days later - on foot.
The honor guard fired a 21-gun salute, then it was launch time. Burrage placed one of the birds in Dee's open palms, and she released him skyward. The remaining 20 soon followed, pausing briefly to circle the cemetery. Then they streaked away, a 35-mile trip ahead.
Sendoffs tells the stories of people saying farewell to loved ones. If you know of an upcoming memorial service - at a funeral home, a park, a workplace, the beach, anywhere - and think it's a special kind of goodbye, please call John Barry at 727 892-2258 or e-mail jbarry@sptimes.com Sendoffs appears Saturdays in Floridian.
