It’s 9:00 AM on Saturday, May 21, 2016. It’s also Armed Forces Day.  In fact, it’s 66 years and one day after the first Armed Forces Day was celebrated in 1950, with the express purpose of honoring all members of the military, no matter the branch. It is a most appropriate day for the members of Flagler County Chapter FL 41 of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) to place American flags on the grave of approximately 600 fallen soldiers and deceased veterans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Gathering at Flagler Palms Memorial Gardens on Old Kings Road in Flagler Beach, MOAA members, spouses, friends and students from the Flagler Palm Coast High School Air Force JROTC program were welcomed by MOAA President Neal McCoppin. McCoppin explained the task to be completed and stated that, although in years past the “flagging” took place closer to Memorial Day, today as Armed Forces Day added an additional and fitting week to the life-span of the Memorial Day flags.

Following a safety briefing and flag placement instruction given by MOAA Secretary Deidre Wright, McCoppin teamed MOAA members, friends and AFROTC students and tasked them to canvass designated sections of the Gardens and place flags properly. When  the teams' tasks were complete, they were asked to meet in the Garden of Prayer for a brief closing ceremony.

Notwithstanding the heat and humidity, each team worked diligently to complete its respective section. And within one hour, all were gathered for a prayer given by Chaplain Harry Gilman, the Pledge of Allegiance led by McCoppin, and a special bugling of "Taps" by Army World War II veteran Herb Brucker.

"This is my second time placing flags at the Memorial Gardens," says AFJROTC student Carolyn Jageswar. "It's always a pleasure to work with MOAA members and honor those who fought for our country."

AFJROTC student Noah Pulaski comments, "It's astonishing that we placed almost 600 flags today. In fact, I find it astonishing that there are so many fallen soldiers and deceased veterans here at the Memorial Gardens."

Initially known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day originated in the years following the Civil War, the conflict that claimed more lives than any in U.S. history, and requiring the establishment of the country's first national cemeteries. By the late 1860s, soldiers who returned from conflicts, as well as the wives and daughters of fallen soldiers in various towns and cities, had begun holding springtime tributes to those countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers, flags, and reciting prayers. MOAA continues this tradition each year, decorating graves and gathering for a brief commemorative service afterwards.

Of special note is that in Flagler Palms Memorial Cemetery lies the grave of  James G. Bruner who fought in the U.S. Civil War. Bruner died in 1922 at  the age of 75. His headstone depicts a Civil War soldier proudly carrying the  American flag.