ARLINGTON, Va. — The highest-ranking US military officer killed in combat since the Vietnam War was buried with full honors Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery in a ceremony attended by his family and platoons of fellow warriors.
Major General Harold J. Greene was killed Aug. 5 when a gunman believed to be an Afghan soldier opened fire at a military academy near Kabul.
During the ceremony, Greene's adult son tightly clasped the hands of his mother and sister as soldiers folded the flag that had draped his father's casket. While the US Army Band played ''America the Beautiful,'' Army First Lieutenant Matthew Greene handed a tissue to his mother, who dabbed at her eyes.
The 55-year-old two-star general went to Afghanistan in January. It was his first deployment to a war zone.
His burial included several ceremonial touches in deference to his rank. The hundreds of people who gathered on a mild, breezy afternoon at Arlington were startled by a 13-cannon salute and again, later, by three rifle volleys.
US Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno presented the flag that had covered Greene's casket to his widow, Susan Myers, a retired Army colonel. He then handed three more flags that had touched the casket to Greene's son; his daughter, Amelia; and his father, also named Harold.
Following the ceremony, Myers placed a rose on Greene's casket and patted it as her son touched her back. Matthew, wearing his dress uniform, knelt by the casket, and then Amelia bent over and kissed it, supported by her brother.
The burial was preceded by a chapel service that was closed to reporters. Lieutenant Colonel Juanita Chang, an Army public affairs officer, said the 650-seat chapel at Arlington was filled beyond capacity. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel attended and met with the family.