Viewfinder: Scouts and VFW Prepare for Memorial Day Celebration

Between sunshine, intermittent rain and overcast skies Friday afternoon, more than 50 people representing the , Boy Scout Troop 422 and Cub Scout Pack 500 came together at Evergreen Memorial Park to post flags in honor of the veterans who have been laid to rest.

The tradition goes back at least 40 years, said VFW Post Chaplain Frosty Hulsey, himself a veteran of three tours totalling 39 months in Vietnam. And the participation of local scouts dates back at least 20 years, he said.

Younger scouts helped to distribute hand-held flags throughout the park at the burial sites of veterans. Older scouts along with adult volunteers helped to hoist about 260 larger flags along the roadways that line the park. 

Those larger flags are in fact actual internment flags that are traditionally draped over the coffins of deceased veterans during funeral services, VFW Post Commander Elbert Reed said. They have all been donated to the VFW by the families of the veterans, he said. Walk around the park this weekend and you'll note that along the left edge of each flag, the name of the veteran whose family the flag was originally presented to is written there.

The flags are well cared for. After the Memorial Day celebration, they will be collected, air-dried and then stored until the following year. Nonetheless, wear and tear have left several flags in conditions that are no longer suitable for flying -- some are about 40 years old, Reed said.

The VFW continues to seek donations of internment flags from families who may not know what to do with a flag that was given to a relative and passed down to them. This way, the flag will continue to fly proudly each Memorial Day in honor of all veterans.

If you have a flag you'd like to donate to the VFW Post 1949, click here for more information on how to contact the group.