KELSEYVILLE ? Flags will fly in honor of Lake County military veterans at the first flag-raising ceremony at the Avenue of Flags” newly inducted Kelseyville Cemetery, planned for Memorial Day on May 25.
The Avenue of Flags was established in the ”70s as a living memorial to honor veterans, according to president Joel Moore. Kelseyville Cemetery became the fourth cemetery on Avenue of the Flags earlier this year, when a call went out to the community for donations of flags and funds to raise them.
“We got enough money donated to afford 46 flags and receivers. We are always looking for more flags,” Moore said.
The ceremony will begin at 7 a.m. with the hour-long flag raising. Welcoming ceremonies will commence at 10 a.m., with a barbecue and live music to follow between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The flags will be lowered between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Guest speakers include Lake County District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown and Lake County Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 951 President Dean Gotham.
Moore said the Avenue of Flags honors all veterans, regardless of whether the service occurred during a war. He said flags are raised in honor of veterans who served during peacetime, alongside flags raised for veterans who saw battle.
“The biggest reason I do this is that we owe a lot of the freedom we have to these guys who have been in the military,” Moore said. “No one seems to say thank you to these guys until their freedom feels threatened. Freedom comes at a price and we should never forget that and respect the freedom we have.”
Moore said he was a seaman in the United States Navy between 1981 and 1985, during which time he served on the USS Shenandoah.
Kelseyville Cemetery”s flags will join more than 750 flags that are currently flown on Veteran”s Day and Memorial Day at the Avenue”s other three cemeteries, including Hartley Cemetery in Lakeport, Lower Lake Cemetery and Upper Lake Cemetery.
“If the country is interested in maintaining an all-volunteer military, then it is vital that they respect those that have served previously. Without that respect being paid how can we expect someone else to join the military in the future?” Gotham said.
Paraphrasing a quote by former President John F. Kennedy, Gotham said, “The quality of a country is proportional to the quality of the remembrance and honor.”
Volunteers are needed to raise flags at all four cemeteries. For more information, call Moore at 272-1136. Donations can be mailed to the Avenue of Flags at P.O. Box 980, Lower Lake, CA, 95457.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
