3 Quarters Today

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cemetery

Placing Flags For Memorial Day

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In cemeteries all over the country flags are placed on the graves of veterans for Memorial Day. Have you ever wondered how they suddenly appear, who places them, and how long it takes?

In Elmwood Nebraska, a town of just slightly over 800 people, we celebrate Memorial Day like many towns across the country. The local VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) coordinates volunteers to met in the cemetery to place flags on the memorial crosses and markers. I’ve learned this event is often called “Flaging In”

Community helps place flags
Community helps place flags

A time of 7 o’clock pm was sent out for anyone who wanted to help decorate the cemetery. I got there about 7:05 and the people were already milling about with bundles of flags. All of the small flags had already been taken so a friend and I were given a basket of large flags to raise on the poles.

Boy Scout placing flags on Memorial Day
Boy Scout placing flags on Memorial Day

Each pole was at least a two person job, one to hold the flag to make sure it didn’t touch the ground, and the other to raise the pole. The flag wanted to fly free in the wind and I can’t describe the feeling I had as I released the flag into the wind and watch it unfurl. Maybe a sense of pride crept over my face along with a smile. It felt good.

Raising the flag on Memorial Day
Raising the flag on Memorial Day
Raising flags on Memorial Day
Raising flags on Memorial Day
American Flag Ready to fly on Memorial Day
American Flag Ready to fly

This was truly a community event with people of all ages helping.

American unfurls at half staff
American flag unfurls at half staff

It’s pretty amazing to gather with a group of people who feel the same way. Who want to remember veterans and those that died serving their country. People need to remember, never forget what makes the United States great.

Take time out this weekend from your barbecues, family get togethers and shopping to visit a military museum, take part in a Memorial Day ceremony at a church or cemetery. Look at the names and dates on the headstones and remember.

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Recognizing Memorial Day

Day 174/365: Memorial Day Cemetery Traditions

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Memorial Day, Decoration Day, or Remembrance Day, depending on the area of the country and the era you grew up in will depend on what you call the last Monday in May. But regardless of the name the purpose is the same; to remember those who have died and honor their memory. Many towns have Memorial Day traditions and Elmwood, Nebraska fills the day honoring the veterans who served and made the ultimate sacrifice.

Elmwood Nebraska Cemetery
Elmwood Nebraska Cemetery

Starting on Friday of Memorial Day weekend the Elmwood Nebraskan American Legion raises all the flags to half mast at the cemetery in remembrance to all the fallen veterans. In addition to the Stars and Stripes, the flags of the military branches are also displayed: Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and the POW-MIA recognition flag.

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Flags at the cemetery

Memorial Day Traditions in the cemetery
Honoring Veterans

Most cemeteries have traditions for their veterans and just like Arlington National Cemetery, the veterans buried in Elmwood are honored with a cross and a flag to remind everyone they served their country with honor and pride. American Legions around the country provide the medallion flag holders as a visual reminder for communities that we need to always remember and never forget.

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Civil War Memorial
Civil War Memorial

Grand Army of the Republic, the Union Army of the Civil War. Nebraska was a young state back in 1865 when this cemetery memorial was erected but it was a proud state to have aligned themselves with freedom. Statues like this are common on the east coast in fact some say they litter the country sides and cemeteries to a point where the impact is diluted. But in Nebraska it’s unique, so I’m posting it as a reminder of soldiers long ago.

I hope my Dad has a military marker on his headstone. Some cemeteries don’t want ornaments of markers that stand up, they get in the way of mowers, but I think it’s an honorable tradition and I enjoy walking through our towns cemeteries and reading the stories of each veteran.

Memorial Day Traditions

American Memorial Day traditions

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Memorial Day traditions and history

WASHINGTON, May 27, 2012 – Memorial Day is a time for remembering the men and women who died for their Country since the Revolutionary War. Remembering the approximately 1.3 million soldiers, not including those missing in action or wounded who …

Remembering The Fallen: Memorial Day Traditions

Guests. Alan Jabbour, folklorist and author, Decoration Day in the Mountains: Traditions of Cemetery Decoration in the Southern Appalachians, and former director of the American Folklife center at the Library of Congress. Rolf Kriken, sculptor, and …

Clicking on the Web: Memorial Day history, traditions

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Family of Fallen Hero takes in Memorial Day

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Memorial Day – Holidays – HISTORY.com

Memorial Day Traditions. Cities and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades each year, often incorporating military personnel and members of veterans’ organizations. Some of the largest parades take place in Chicago, …

Memorial Day-Traditions | wpri.com

Over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, I flew home to see my parents. They live in a very small, rural Midwestern town where the pace of life (at least compared to my own) is much slower. I always joke around that the clock …