God bless the troups

 

And bless those heros who gave their lives so that we may be free.
God bless the troups!

 

wife's marching in the parade, dress blues
kids & I are handing out water & snacks...
john


"oldfart" <

 



Happy Memorial Day to all and especially those who have served or are
currently serving in one of our nations fighting forces.

Myself and my 2 boys as part of our local Boy Scout Troop had the honor of
helping to lead the community in 3 separate solemn ceremonies to commemorate
our fallen soldiers.

On Friday night, at the request of the North Georgia Honor Guard, we hosted
a formal flag retirement ceremony at the Brasstown Valley Resort's BBQ
Festival. This was a moving event with all the traditional pomp and ceremony
befitting the retirement of our nations flag. If you've never witnessed one
of these, I strongly recommend you do so. Many of the people in attendance
commented that they had no idea what one was supposed to do with a worn out
flag and were visibly moved by the care and reverence exhibited by this
performance.

Saturday morning, the Troop assisted the local VA & VFW at the Parade and
Memorial service. The boys participated by setting up and taking down chairs
for the Memorial service, Marching in the parade itself, manning the flags
during the Memorial service itself. Lots of moving parts here as we
raised/lowered the flags as directed by the Commander as appropriate to
recognize the POW/MIA's, each branch of the military individually (Travis
assisted with the Air Force flag) as the high school band played their song
(Wilson played in the band). And two of our younger Scouts delivered the
wreath to three waiting POW's who then placed it on the memorial itself to
close out the ceremony.

This morning, we once again suited up in full uniform to perform a flag
dedication ceremony at our newly re-opened McDonald's. At the end of the
speaking portion of the dedication, we recognized Memorial Day by bringing
the flag back to half staff starting with a moment of silence and ending
with a salute while Wilson played taps in honor of those who gave their
lives in faithful service to country.

KW