Local Scouts to Maintain the traditions of Memorial Day
Falls Church – May 2012- After raising the flag at Veterans Common on the W&OD Trail the morning of Memorial Day, Boy Scouts of Troop 895 will join other troops in the George Mason District in honoring our Veterans in National Memorial Park on Memorial Day.
Monday 28th of May is Memorial Day. While there are different claims to the origins of the day it is widely believed that an early Memorial Day was celebrated in 1865 by liberated slaves in Charleston, N.C. Later, as Decoration Day, it was the day given to commemorate those who fell in the War Between the States. It was not until after the First World War that the last Monday in May was declared a holiday to remember those who have given their lives in all wars.
Across America, the Boy Scouts of American continue to maintain traditional observance of Memorial Day and local scouts of Falls Church and the George Mason District will be no exception. At 7.00 am on Monday May 28th, Boy Scout Troop 895 will hold a flag raising ceremony at Veterans Common to honor of our local veterans and would welcome all who wish to join them. In keeping with the wishes of the late Leonard S. Michalowski, Troop 895 has adopted Veterans Common, which is located on the Washington and Old Dominion Trail at junction of Little Falls Street, and has been working to maintain the grounds preserving it as a place of beauty that all may enjoy.
Later in the morning, Scouts from Troop 895 will join those from other Troops in the George Mason District of the National Capital Area Council to replace the flags at the headstones of our heros in the National Memorial Cemetery on Lee Highway.
The tradition of marking the Veterans graves is one that has been recently revived by Assistant District Commissioner Kurt R. Johnson who wanted to make Memorial Day more significant and relevant for Scouts and the community alike. All Scouts and Scouters are welcomed to participate this Memorial Day – gathering at 8:30 am in the Cemetery parking lot at 7482 Lee Highway in Falls Church.
By Steven Valley
May 26, 2012
Falls Church area Cub Scouts will be there as well!
Thanks to Kurt for coordinating this and to the staff at National Memorial Park for supporting it!
Honoring veterans in this way is very meaningful for our scouts. It really brings home the importance of the men and women of our armed services, the risks they take, and the sacrifices they make to allow us to live free.