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McCook Gazette
Letter to the Editor

Flags to be placed on veterans' graves Saturday

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Dear Editor,

Memorial Day weekend is quickly approaching once again. The McCook American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, and a number of community volunteers will be setting out flags on our veterans’ gravesites at Calvary, Memorial Park, and Riverview cemeteries in McCook on Saturday, May 23rd at 9:00 am.

The same volunteers will be picking up the flags from the gravesites on Monday, May 25th at 4:00 pm. If you would like to volunteer to help set out the flags or pick them up, please show up at the maintenance shop at the northeast corner of Memorial Park Cemetery no later than 8:45 am on Saturday, May 23rd or by 3:45 pm on Monday, May 25th. Your help would be appreciated, and I believe you will find it a rewarding experience.

Although we make every effort to ensure every deceased veteran has a flag at gravesite, occasionally gravesites are missed. If your deceased veteran has a marker on the gravesite and it is missed, please accept our humble apology and know it is not done with ill intent. Also, flags will be left in a barrel next to the maintenance shop located at the northeast corner of Memorial Park. Please feel free to take one of those flags and place it at graveside.

If, on the other hand, you have placed your own flag on a veteran’s gravesite, please clearly mark it to help ensure it is left when we pick up flags. Again, we do not take the flags with ill intent, and we make every effort to leave flags placed on gravesites by family and friends.

If you know of a veteran who has died during the past year in Red Willow County, and/or a deceased veteran who does not have a marker on his/her gravesite, please contact the Red Willow county Veteran’s Service officer, Mike Simmonds, by Friday at (308) 345-2385, to receive information on obtaining a grave marker.

Please note, due to the COVID-19 pandemic there will not be a formal Memorial Day service this year. However; we encourage you as American families and individuals to honor deceased family members and veterans on Memorial Day by having a moment of silence on your front porch from 11:58 AM to 12:00 PM.

Sincerely,

Daniel E Stramel, Commander

McCook American Legion Post 203

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  • Great to hear the Wahun (Covid 19) virus has not precluded the flag placement. As I'm sure the Legion members know the national ensign (flag) is to be flown at half staff on Memorial Day until noon and then at full staff. It would be nice to have a bugler at least to play taps prior to a full staff flying of the flag.

    Darrell A. Meister

    CWO3 USMCR Retired

    -- Posted by dameister on Wed, May 20, 2020, at 10:13 PM
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