Each Memorial Day our Post honors and remembers those who have given everything for our Nation. We never forget our departed brothers and sisters no matter the time of year, but we take special steps to insure that we, and our town, remember that this day is special, dedicated to those who sacrificed their lives to ensure our Nation, and the freedoms we all cherish will continue to be the best example of liberty and stability ever known on Earth You might wonder what we do to insure this mindfulness.
We begin by laying small flags on the grave of every Veteran buried in the Town Cemetery. We have some from the Civil war to the present day. We do this prior to the official holiday, usually the Friday before.
We then hoist full sized flags for recent members of our Post, or local Veterans who aren’t members of the Post. They might be gone, or still with us. We honor all Veterans in this manner although Memorial day is the day to honor those who gave their lives in service to our Nation. Again, this is done the preceding Friday.
On Memorial Day, we invite the Townspeople to the Cemetery where we have the Post Chaplin offer a Prayer. Then Taps is played by a local Bugler, and we symbolically raise the Flag, and lower it again at the conclusion of Taps. At this point our Guest Speaker generally spends 30 minutes or so discussing a Specific Battle, or Conflict in which the United States was a participant. Sometimes all branches are included in the speech, sometimes not.
We conclude with a closing Prayer, and invite the Town Attendees to a free lunch at the Legion Post prepared by Legion Members and Spouses.
