U.S. flags wave at DFW National Cemetery, May 30, 2010. Photo by Ed Darrell
Our local Rotary Club provides a U.S. flag planted in your yard for flag-flying events from Memorial Day through Labor Day, for an annual subscription of about $15.00. Local groups, including especially Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts, take a route and plant the flags.
As a consequence, our town is loaded with flags on a weekend like this one.
But even if you don’t subscribe to a flag service, please remember to fly your flag today.
Memorial Day honors people who died in defense of the nation. Armed Forces Day honors those who serve currently, celebrated the third Saturday in May. Veterans Day honors the veterans who returned.
On Memorial Day itself, flags on poles or masts should be flown at half-staff from sunrise to noon. At noon, flags should be raised to full-staff position.
When posting a flag at half-staff, the flag should be raised to the full-staff position first, with vigor, then slowly lowered to half-staff; when retiring a flag posted at half-staff, it should be raised to the full staff position first, with vigor, and then be slowly lowered. Some people attach black streamers to stationary flags, though this is not officially recognized by the U.S. Flag Code.
On Memorial Day, 3:00 p.m. local time is designated as the National Moment of Remembrance.
Memorial Day traditionally came on May 30, but now comes on the last Monday in May. In 2011 the last Monday happens to be May 30, a nice blend of tradition and formal law.
Flag flies at a home in North Carolina's Outer Banks
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
[…] This is mostly an encore post. Share this:TwitterStumbleUponDiggRedditFacebookEmailLinkedInPinterestTumblrLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. […]
LikeLike
Yeah, Scouts to it here as a fund raiser. Have to tell you, it struck me when I first heard of the practice, still does, as kind of “contract patriotism.” Putting a flag out on the lawn or porch involves minimal effort. Certainly couldn’t think of much less someone might do by way of honoring the nation’s military fallen in a public way. To hire out doing even that seems wrong somehow.
LikeLike
Waterloo, NY, looks a little less fortunate when compressed into a URL with no space between the city and state names.
Thanks for the link, Ellie.
LikeLike
And, if you have the time, do visit here:http://waterloony.com/Mday2011.html
It’s the birthplace of Memorial Day where they are celebrating their 145th consecutive Memorial Day observance.
LikeLike