WordNet
n. an escort for a distinguished guest or for the casket at a military funeral [syn: guard of honor]
Wikipedia
An honor guard, or ceremonial guard, is a ceremonial unit, usually military in nature and composed of volunteers who are carefully screened for their physical ability and dexterity. Only those persons who are highly motivated and maintain exceptionally high standards of appearance and conduct and show aptitude for ceremonial duty are likely to be considered.
A primary role for honor guards in the United States and some other countries is to provide funeral honors for fallen comrades and to guard national monuments. An honor guard may also serve as the "guardians of the colors" by displaying and escorting the national flag on ceremonial occasions at official state functions. Also, certain religious bodies, especially Churches of the Anglican Communion and the Methodist movement, have the tradition of an Honor Guard at the funeral of an ordained elder, in which all other ordained elders present "guard the line" between the door of the church and the grave, or hearse if the deceased is to be buried elsewhere or cremated.
Finally, honor guards usually provide detachments for review by visiting heads of state. Honor guards also serve in the civilian world for fallen police officers and other civil servants. Persons serving in this capacity may or may not be designated, meaning they may not be assigned to serve each and every time there is a funeral in their jurisdiction. In the USA, military honor guards may serve as ambassadors to the public, presenting a positive image of their service, and assisting with the recruiting effort.
Honor Guard is a hero team in the comic book series Astro City, portrayed as the world's most elite or prestigious grouping of superheroes. Created by writer Kurt Busiek and artists Brent Anderson and Alex Ross.
Usage examples of "honor guard".
An honor guard of Furies, brightly shining in their naked metal chassis, stood at attention before him, forming two metals rows for him to walk between.
With a tremulous groan, the wall began to come open, gradually revealing an honor guard standing on either side of a rather short woman wearing the uniform of the scientist caste.
The Marine honor guard snapped to attention in its green-and-black dress uniforms, naval personnel in the black and gold of the Royal Manticoran Navy saluted sharply, and Yanakov blinked in surprise.
I would consider myself dishonored if you will not permit me to offer you some small honor guard as a token of the Federation’.
Only a steadholder was greeted with the Steadholders' March, but any member of Lady Harrington's family was properly saluted with her steading's anthem, and a shouted command brought the honor guard to attention.
Just this once, as Lady Harrington had requested, there was no side party, no honor guard of Marines.
Honor surveyed the immaculate boat bay gallery, the side party, and the waiting honor guard and smiled.
He reached up and removed the earbug, dropping it into a pocket, and straightened his tunic as Benjamin the Greats bugler took his place and the honor guard snapped to attention.
It would be an honor guard, and it was an honor to be included in it.
But in this instance, her monarch-well, one of her monarchs, she supposed-had agreed to relent, and so there was no huge honor guard, no crowd of newsies, to observe her arrival once again upon the soil of her birth-kingdom's capital planet.
Claudia saw him, however, peering through the slats of the cloakroom blinds at La Casa Grande, as Major and Senora Hans-Peter von Wachtstein left La Capilla Nuestra Senora de los Milagros between an honor guard of dressuniformed officers, Army, Navy, and Diplomatic, of the German Embassy.