Flags From 3 Wars Retired
JOE POTTER
Approximately 50 people attended the Daughters of the American Revolution Flag Retirement Ceremony.
The ceremony was held at the Pioneer Florida Museum & Village in Dade City on Flag Day, June 14. This was the fourth annual event put on by the D.A.R.’s Echebucassa Chapter, which is based in Zephyrhills.
Dade City Mayor Scott Black and Bob Hatfield, who is a member of the staff of U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, were among those who attended the event.
The ceremony opened with a Presentation of Colors by the Zephyr Airport Cadet Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, led by Lts. Vilar and Wentworth. Four members of the D.A.R. sang The Star Spangled Banner, God Bless the USA, and The Grand Old Flag as part of the ceremony.
Commemorative Flags from the Korean Conflict: June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953; and the Vietnam Conflict: November 1, 1955 – April 30, 1975 were burned. That is the formal method of retiring flags. Also retired was a U.S. Flag that had flown over a military base during the Afghanistan Conflict: October 7, 2001 – August 31, 2021.
Volunteers Don Nathe, Gene White, and Jeff Westendorf were responsible for burning those flags along with 1,025 other ones during the ceremony that lasted about 30 minutes.
“On this day, we respectfully retire the US Flag of stars and stripes we all know and love, we also retire and recognize the sacrifice and service of our armed forces who served and fell in Korea from 1950–1953,” Marie Wunderlich said.
The Department of Defense reports that 54,246 American servicemen and women lost their lives during the Korean War. “The Korean War 50th Anniversary Commemorative Flag states, ‘Freedom is not Free,’ and it is also engraved into one wall at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.,” Wunderlich said.
The Official Commemorative Flag of the Vietnam War was retired along with POW and MIA Flags. Those flags honored the 58,220 U.S. servicemen and women who died during the Vietnam Conflict and the unknown number of veterans who were Prisoners of War or Missing In Action.
Melanie Nelson, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, who served as a flight nurse during wartime in Afghanistan, also provided a flag to be retired. That U.S. Flag had flown “in places far from home – over remote forward operating bases, above medical tents, and on the uniforms of brave men and women who risked their lives daily,” Nelson said. A total of 2,459 military personnel died during the Afghanistan Conflict, with 1,922 of them having been killed in action (KIA).
“As a veteran, I thank you for honoring this tradition. As a citizen, I thank you for remembering that freedom is not free. And as someone who has served under that flag in war–torn regions, I assure you: it means everything. May we continue to cherish and uphold what it stands for – at home and abroad, in peace and conflict, in memory and hope,” Nelson said. ©
