Lewisport’s Gage Gray Serves U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard During President Carter’s Funeral

By Jennifer Wimmer
United States Navy Fireman Gage Gray, of Lewisport, was selected to serve Ceremonial Guard detail in Washington, D.C., after completing boot camp last year at Great Lakes Training Center Navy Base, in Chicago, Illinois.
One percent of the U.S. population serves in the military, and only one percent of those who choose to serve are selected for the Ceremonial Guard.
Gage is a U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard Casket Bearer, and had the honor of serving during Jimmy Carter’s funeral services last week. Carter was the 39th President of the United States, and the longest living president, at 100-years-old.
He will also have the honor of being a part of the U.S. Navy Marching Platoon at President Donald J. Trump’s Inauguration Day Parade on Monday, January 20th.
“A couple of months ago,” Gage said, “they started prepping everybody. We started practicing every Wednesday and Thursday for the Inauguration. It’s a cool experience because the contract here is only two years, so not everybody that’s in the Guard gets to do it because they might be in that period when there’s no inauguration. Just getting to be a part of a presidential inauguration, and then also burying a president, we’re in a really rare time. Not many Guardsmen get to have that, or many military personnel in general.”
This is the 60th U.S. Presidential Inauguration, and will begin at the U.S. Capitol with the swearing-in ceremony. After the inaugural ceremonies and luncheon are concluded, the newly sworn-in president and vice president will be at the East Front steps of the Capitol reviewing military troops. Next, is the procession of ceremonial military regiments, citizens’ groups, marching bands, and floats down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.
President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, along with their spouses and special guests, will be watching the parade as it passes in front of the Presidential Reviewing Stand.
“In the Inauguration Parade,” Gage explained, “I will be a part of the marching platoon element. We call it a ‘nine by nine.’ It’s nine ranks of nine people, and everybody in our command, which is about 200 of us. The majority of us will be in the marching platoon, marching during the parade, and then giving a presentation in arms to our new president…People say he has a mouth, but he produces results. I use it as a same analogy when it comes to sports, if you’re one of the best players in the country, you can talk all the crap you want because you back it up; You prove what you’re saying is right.”
Gage enlisted at the beginning of February, 2024, and arrived at boot camp near the end of that same month. He completed his training on May 4th of 2024, and will continue to serve in the Ceremonial Guard until May, 2026.
“I’m really grateful to get the opportunity to get to be here and do that,” he said. “Just getting to be a part of that small group of people that can say they were part of the Ceremonial Guard is extremely humbling. In my graduation group, there were about 500 people, and only three of us were selected.”
His current rank is E-3, and he will be serving as a Navy Engineman (EN) when he goes out to fleet.
“I picked engineman, really, because I’ve always worked factory jobs and it was more hands-on stuff, and I wanted to keep something similar to that,” he said. “My recruiter was an EN, and he kind of told me the ins and outs of what his job was and it interested me…My uncle, Dean McCann, was in the Navy for 9-10 years, along with my aunt, Kate McCann. They live in Omaha, Nebraska. When I was a kid, he’d tell me all the stories about him being in the Navy. I always thought it was cool. If there was any military branch that I was going to join, it was going to be the Navy.”
Gage arrived in DC for duty on May 6th, 2024, just two days after graduating from boot camp. He is at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB).
“My day-to-day life – normally we wake up at around 4:30 or 5:00 a.m.,” he said. “I get dressed in my ceremonial uniform. We all go to the Ceremonial Guard Building. The barracks is only like a 5-minute walk distance away. We all get ready there, and then we all get on a bus and get driven to Arlington National Cemetery. On a daily basis, it can range from one funeral to five, depending on how busy the day is. If it’s a normal day, we get back here at around 3 or 4 o’clock. We’ll come back and make sure we have all of our uniform items, and nothing is missing. Then we go back to the barracks and press our uniforms for the next day.”
The Ceremonial Guard serves in those duties on Monday through Friday. On Saturdays and Sundays, they have the day off. Gage said that on most Sundays, they tend to go to the building and practice.
“Most of my day, I’m burying old sailors or veterans that’ve passed away,” he said. “You don’t fully realize the impact that it does to families seeing that. Even as a kid, I got lucky that not many close relatives have passed away, and I’ve never really had that feeling very often. You have to keep yourself from treating it like it’s just a regular day at work; You’ve got to catch yourself sometimes. It’s really humbling to see stuff like that. There have been kids that I’ve buried that were younger than me. There have been some guys that were 18-years-old that I was helping put into the ground. That really puts some perspective on life, of how quick you can go.”
It is an important reminder of all the sacrifices that are made, have been made, and will be made by the brave men and women who serve to keep us free and safe. And it is also an important reminder of the loved ones that sacrifice along with them.
Gage visits his family in Hancock County every now and then, while on leave. He said that every time he comes home and then has to leave again, that he misses it more.
“I’ll always be grateful for all of the people I had around me growing up in Hancock County, and the life I had,” he said. “I’ve always been the type of person to believe that you wouldn’t be who you are if you didn’t go through the stuff that you went through. I’d like to thank all of the coaches I’ve had in my life, and all of the mentors that I’ve had in my life that’ve helped me.”
Gage will be 25-years-old this year, and is a 2019 Hancock County High School Graduate. He played football all 4 years of high school, and was also on the HCHS Track & Field team. He is the son of Genny McCann and Josh Gray. His grandparents are Cindy & Tommy Gray, of Lewisport. His aunt and uncle in Hancock County are Robert & Melissa McCann.