Left to right: Eagle Scout and Wando High School trumpeter Edward Jones; Post 3137 bugler Joe Houdek; Post Commander Bo Stallings; Post Chaplain Carol Truslow; and Flag Retirement Ceremony Coordinator Matthew Leaird.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 3137, held its semiannual Flag Retirement Ceremony May 13, at the new Patriots Courtyard in front of the VFW post on Ocean Boulevard on the Isle of Palms.
All VFW Posts provide a dignified retirement of old and tattered American Flags.
Post Commander Bo Stallings gave the invocation and Post Chaplain Carol Truslow conducted an opening prayer. Edward Jones, Eagle Scout and Wando High School trumpeter, performed the National Anthem.
Hundreds of flags were retired properly by 20 veterans and Auxiliary members. A final tribute was provided by Matthew Leaird, retirement ceremony coordinator, about our flag’s glory and commitment to service. The flag is more than just a piece of cloth. It is the emblem of America, a silent sentinel of freedom for the greatest sovereign nation on Earth. The ceremony concluded with the playing of “Echo Taps” by Jones and Joe Houdek, bugler for Post 3137.
A worn flag receptacle is provided to the community at the entrance to the Post on Ocean Boulevard.
Post 3137 is fondly referred to as “The Post on the Coast.” Members of the VFW have served in a foreign war in one of the branches of the U.S. military, either Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force or Coast Guard. Many local veterans served in Vietnam, Desert Storm, the Gulf War or Iraqi Freedom.
Members of the VFW Auxiliary have close family members who have served in the military in a foreign war and were honorable discharged.
The VFW actively supports all members of the U. S. military and veterans.
