The Rio Grande Valley's first regional honor guard formed after San Benito police Lt. Milton Resendez's death.

Resendez was killed in the line of duty during a deadly chase in 2023.

The honor guard is available to smaller departments like San Benito who didn't have their own when they needed it.

When a member of Valley law enforcement is killed in the line of duty, South Texas shows up and the honor guard sends them off with a hero's goodbye. 

"The pallbearers, folding of the flags, 21-gun salute, Taps, there's a lot involved in making sure those sequences are played out in the right order," Hidalgo County Sheriff and RGV Regional Honor Guard Chairman Eddie Guerra said.

But not every agency has the staff to make it happen. A year ago, that realization hit when Resendez was shot and killed.

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"We started getting the wheels turning to start this to establish protocols on what we'd offer any other agency that doesn't have the means to provide these services in case of an on-duty death," RGV Regional Honor Guard Commander and Hidalgo County Sgt. JP Rodriguez said.

The South Texas Police Officers' Association got to work to create the valley's first regional honor guard that would help with honors at funerals for smaller departments who didn't have their own.

It started with seven local police departments, Mission Police Department, McAllen Police Department, Pharr Police Department, Edinburg Police Department, Weslaco Police Department, Brownsville Police Department and the Cameron County Sheriff's Office.

The Department of Public Safety, U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection also got involved.

"You have such a big group from different agencies that practice differently, so it's important to practice altogether as a whole," Rodriguez said. "You have to make sure everything is done as close to perfect as possible."

Last week, the Regional Honor Guard was presented for the first time at Cameron County Precinct 1 Deputy Constable Ruben Garcia's celebration of life. 

"When someone's life is given on duty, the sense of brotherhood kicks in," Guerra said. "As a sheriff, I, we, gotta be there for the family."

Though they hope they never have to, Valley first responders now have a way to make sure their own are always honored properly.