Veteran Bo Newcomb (right) teaches Cub Scout Joshua Stoddard and his den leader, Shelly Stoddard, how to post a flag at a veteran’s gravesite.
The local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5311 and the American Legion Post 59 continued the Memorial Day tradition of honoring deceased veterans at Sunset Cemetery on S. Franklin St. in Christiansburg this past weekend by posting American flags at their gravesites. The cemetery is owned and operated by the Town of Christiansburg.
Veterans of the Revolutionary War, the Spanish-American War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan representing the National Guard and all branches of the U.S. military are buried at the cemetery.
This year, the Cub Scouts of Pack 145 and the Boy Scouts of Troop 145 assisted the veterans and Legionnaires with posting of the American flags on Saturday and collecting them on Tuesday while adhering to COVID-19 mandates.
Troop 145 Boy Scout Foster Williams posts a flag in tribute to deceased veterans.
The Town of Christiansburg granted permission to post the flags at a time when many other municipalities and organizations, including the Department of Veterans Affairs on its 142 national cemeteries, would not allow posting of the flags as a tribute.
