Junior ROTC Cadets Raise Flags To Honor Veterans

Cadets from the Junior ROTC programs at area schools put out more than four thousand flags at Floral Haven cemetery on Friday.

The event honors veterans who are buried at the cemetery.

With every salute, they keep the memories of soldiers who fought alive.

"This is a day that we do not forget," Mason Thompson said.

As each flag is fastened and raised, Junior ROTC cadets like Thompson take a moment to reflect.

"I see it as a way to remember these people who have fallen,” he said. “Whether they were just a mechanic in the army or a Colonel in the Navy. Their rank and grade don't matter. They just need to be remembered."

More than 4,000 are flying this year. Each of those flags has been used to drape the casket of a veteran.

Mason finished his junior year on Tuesday, but he's learning an important lesson with every flag placed.

"No matter the situation, whether it's standing in the heat of a May day putting up flags or standing in the freezing cold on Veterans Day, it teaches you hard work and motivation to keep going no matter what."

It may be hard work, but Mason believes it's worth it if it'll help others to remember.

"Memorial Day is one of the most important days of the year to really remember it fully as a country, not just as an individual,” he said. “Knowing these people have died for our freedom here in the U.S."

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