The Clarion Cemetery now has a memorial for used American flags.
Boy Scout Troop 51 of Clarion conducts a ceremony every year on Flag Day to retire worn out American flags that are no longer a fitting emblem of display. On Friday, part of that ceremony took place at a memorial at the Clarion Cemetery.
“When you look at that flag I want you to think of the men and women who served with distinction and those who have paid the ultimate price,” State Rep. Donna Oberlander said at the ceremony.
“Old Glory deserves better than that,” he said. “Fortunately we have citizens in our area who realize that sometimes it is appropriate to appropriately retire them.”
In the past, scoutmasters would take the ashes and sprinkle them around the headstones of veterans who were buried in local cemeteries.
Troop 51 Scoutmaster Woody Whitling had an idea to create a memorial site for the ashes of the retired American flags. He contacted the Clarion Cemetery Association to inquire if there was a space for a memorial within Clarion Cemetery.
The cemetery association was more than eager to help by providing a designated area near the veterans memorial within the cemetery.
Through these combined efforts, the memorial was dedicated as part of Friday’s Flag Day ceremony.
“May we go home and not forget the importance of our nation’s most important symbol, the United States flag,” said Whitling.