Old Glory to be Honored at Special Observance

By Rosemary Horvath
Herald Correspondent
Attendees at a June 14 observance will reflect on the symbolism and history of the U.S. Flag, while appreciating the updated All Wars Memorial on the Gratiot County Courthouse lawn in Ithaca.
The county Department of Veterans Affairs is hosting a Flag Day ceremony next Tuesday from 4 to 5 p.m.
VA director Nancy Bozzer will have a representative on site to provide information about Veteran Administration benefits such as education, health, military record request, VA disability compensation, and emergency assistance programs.
A narrative during the ceremony will be given on the flag’s history and what it stands for followed by a flag folding ceremony and 21 Gun Salute.
Veterans from various organizations are participating.
The U.S. was only months away from entering World War I when President Woodrow Wilson in 1916 declared June 14 as Flag Day.
The date recognizes when congress adopted the Stars and Stripes design as the country’s first national flag on that date in 1777.
Colors and design symbolize the tenants of American symbolism and national unity, Wilson remarked.
As true today as then, Wilson said, “This flag which we honor and under which we serve is the emblem of our unity, our power, our thought and purpose as a nation.”
In recent months, the VA office was instrumental in having lighting and landscaping installed at the county memorial. Its shape is patterned after a Purple Heart Medal that was dedicated on Veterans Day 2001.
Names engraved in the black marble represent the lost lives in two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and Gulf wars from the county.
The new lighting will shine around the clock.
Bozzer and administrative assistant Susan Edmonds maintain office hours at the courthouse from 9 to 4 p.m. Monday thru Friday. [/private]