On Flag Day, in the middle of a baseball game, an announcer suddenly began playing the Star Spangled Banner at Lehigh Little League. It was no mistake. This musical interruption occurred because, a few hundreds yard to the south, at the Bethlehem Steeler athletic fields, American Legion Harry F. W. Johnson Post 379 was saying good-bye to Old Glory. With the help of Bethlehem firefighters Lou Jimenez and Jessie Sterner, over 10,000 American Flags were retired as the sun set.
Boy scouts had previously collected tattered flags from local cemeteries and turned them over to the American Legion, and residents like Joanne Van Billiard added to the pile.
The honor guard, which consisted of Charles Perna, John McCulloch, John Watson, Dick Fasching, Joe Herkalo, Walter Markotic and Steve Mitala, presented a 21-gun salute. When they finished, WWII Vet LeRohn "Dan" Dreysher played "taps". Then Commander Ken Nichol lit the flame.
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| Joanne Van Billiard is also with "Moms in Military" |
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| Honor Guard provides 21-gun salute. |
1 comment:
I have always found it kind of funny that people think that we should ban flag burning, but that is how these were retired.
So the difference between something that should be illegal and something that is proper is the mood you are in while you do it?
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