Memorial Day (May 30th)
&
Flag Day (June 14th)
2005

A special section from your patriotic bros at...

www.LoudPipes.Com

closeup of 303 Bomb Group "H" at Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio wider shot of the site of a memorial to the 303 Bomb Group "H" at Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio

Display in the memorial park on the grounds of the U.S. Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio.

This particular memorial honors the 303rd Bomb Group “H”, known as Hells Angels.

The extremely comprehensive Veterans Administration's Memorial Day web site is dedicated to the brave men and women who have given their lives in defense of freedom while serving as members of America's armed forces. The site provides information on the history of Memorial Day, scheduled ceremonies, national cemeteries, along with selected veteran statistics, and much more.

Make sure you also go to the The White House Commission on Remembrance's site. Note that the National Moment of Remembrance is at 3 PM local time on Memorial Day.

While we can never repay our fallen heroes for their sacrifice, every American should take time to remember and honor them on Memorial Day.

National WWII Memorial — The formal dedication ceremony was held on May 29, 2004 for this memorial that "honors the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the U.S., the more than 400,000 who died, and all who supported the war effort from home."

Interesting Fact:

The nation's oldest and continuing Memorial Day Parade has been held in Ironton, Ohio since 1868. And here's a list of parade Grand Marshalls dating back to the first parade! Check this link to read an article about the historical marker that was erected in 2004 honoring this tradition.

(All of the above links are from The Ironton (Ohio)Tribune, except the list of parade Grand Marshalls, which is from The Lawrence Register, a genealogy and historical web site privately owned and operated by Martha J. Kounse and Sara M. Strohmeyer. All are provided here for educational and historical purposes.)

"Leaders are willing to pay their dues to society because they realize that...

"To be born free is an accident;
To live free is a responsibility;
To die free is an obligation."

— John Ben Shepperd, former Texas Attorney General, 1953-1956

Regardless of what anyone thinks or says or tries to make you believe, freedom is NOT free!
(Above) Eddie Rickenbacker, WWI flying ace.

— MEMORIAL DAY —

Memorial Day is celebrated in the United States each year on the last Monday in May to honor American men and women who have fought and died for their country. On this day, display your flag at half-staff until noon only, after which it must be raised to the top of the staff.

The following information is from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia:

"Formerly called Decoration Day. Honors United States soldiers and sailors who have died in wars. The custom began soon after the Civil War. In 1868, Gen. John A. Logan, commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, named May 30 for decorating the graves of Union soldiers. May 30 may have been chosen because that was the date of discharge of the last Union volunteers.

"Confederate Memorial Day is observed in some Southern states on one of four days—April 26, April 28, May 10, or June 3."

To ensure we don't forget our brothers and sisters who served in Vietnam, we present Remembering A War" by Tom Murrell and other related essays. These are very worthwhile reads from our buddy, Tom, a Vietnam vet. Make sure you check out the new piece he's written for 2002 about "Respect", and the follow-up to Remembering a War titled, "Coming Home." If you're interested, you can also view his personal Vietnam photo album with commentaries, along with additional photos supplied by Bob Haines and Tom Bannon.

Other Memorial Day-related sites

— FLAG DAY —

June 14th marks the 227th birthday of the U.S. Flag.

In 1777, the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes pattern for the national flag. This would follow almost one year after the Declaration of Independence and more than a decade before the U.S. Constitution was finalized.

Flag Day was first celebrated in 1877, the centennial of the U.S. flag's existence. After that many citizens and organizations advocated the adoption of a national day of commemoration for the U.S. Flag. It was not until 1949, that President Harry Truman signed legislation making Flag Day a day of national observance.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars web site provides everything you want to know about the United States flag, including the protocol for displaying it, how to fold it properly, and so on.

Lots of good flag information is also available at USFlag.Org.

animated red arrow (right) LITTLE-KNOWN FACT: Did you realize that flying the U.S. flag at half staff for anyone in the general populace without a presidential or gubernatorial order violates U.S. Code under Title 36, U.S.C., Chapter 10? Unfortunately, the Code does not impose penalties for misuse of the United States Flag.

With regards to the flag of the United States, we at LoudPipes.Com are NOT against lowering the flag in honor of those who put their lives at risk for us every day and who have given their lives in the line of duty. HOWEVER, we vehemently oppose the indiscriminate practice of lowering our flag for anyone who dies—it's just not right and it violates U.S. Code

No matter how well-known or loved someone may be—whether they are kids who die in a car crash or in a high school shooting, or even former members of our armed services who die as a civilians—we cannot arbitrarily decide to lower our flag for these people. No matter how hard it tugs on our heartstrings, and as uncaring as it may seem, very few of us have the legal authority to order a flag to fly at half-staff for anyone. To do so constitutes an act of disrespect, not only towards our flag and what it symbolizes, but also towards those who truly deserve such a high honor.

Find out more about showing respect for the flag by clicking here.

If you feel as we do, do as we do,
contact your local media whenever you see or read about such disrespectful treatment
of our flag and tell them how you feel.
Many of you fought for OUR flag before—FIGHT FOR IT AGAIN TODAY!!!

Educate those who have forgotten and explain to them that what they accept as normal practice is not only wrong and disrespectful to OUR flag, but to those who have died defending it!

This year, let's all do our part to show more respect to the symbol of freedom that is our flag!

Other flag sites

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