After talking about it and not doing anything about it for several years, Steve and I finally joined the Lowe-McFarlane American Legion Post 14 today. We were headed out that way today for their "casting of the wreath" Memorial Day ceremony anyway, so we gathered our paperwork and went a little early and signed up.
The post was chartered in 1919 just six days after Congress granted the American Legion a national charter. The post is housed on 11 acres on a beautiful point on Cross Lake and is very active in numerous service organizations. I went ahead and signed up for the Auxiliary, too.
We got our paperwork done and then were given a tour of the facility. There's a huge meeting room with a beautiful view of the lake and a "grand ballroom" upstairs with an even prettier view of the lake. There's a fishing pier, lots of historical artifacts, a lounge with an outdoor patio, an RV park, a kids playground, a boat pier, and lots of really nice people.
The wreath ceremony was held on the point where a nice breeze kept the heat tolerable:
The ceremony included he tolling of the bell and a reading of the names of the fallen.
A few boats gathered at the point to participate.
Then the wreath was cast on the waters...
After the ceremony we adjourned to the lounge for a little while before heading home for smoked brisket and fresh veggies from our Coushatta trip this week.
The Shreveport Times has a nice photo gallery of the wreath ceremony.
A quick round-up of Memorial Day posts:
Goldfish and Clowns:
You see, my father was a soldier. He did not set out in life to be one, but the world dictated otherwise back in the satanic onyx days of the early 1940s, and so a soldier he became. He fought long and well in a different kind of battlefield than the soldiers slogging through the mud below. He was huddled in his radio operator’s station aboard a freezing B-29 over Japan, focused on the task at hand while thinking about the young bride waiting for him back home again in Indiana.
The Daley Gator has videos.
Legal Insurrection is remembering Lt. Roslyn Schulte.
Ed Driscoll points out that not everyone is moved by thoughts of the fallen on Memorial Day and cites the rhetoric of MSNBC's Chris Hayes as an example.
Pundette looks at some Medal of Honor citations.
Paco links to Rep. Alan West's remarks.
Pirate's Cove has the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Philadelphia.
Politicaljunkie Mom posts the now iconic photo of a grieving fiance and also shares the photographer's remarks.
Sippican Cottage has a beautiful post.
And, of course, Michelle Malkin has a link-filled lovely post.
Tomorrow the three day weekend is over and many will stow their flags in a closet until the next holiday - July 4, perhaps. Meanwhile, brave Americans will continue to fight for our freedoms and serve with honor.
Never forget.
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