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| Aroostook Republican Photo/Lisa Wilcox The wind wreaked havoc with the Northern Maine Veterans Cemetery Avenue of Flags after the stars and stripes were fully raised by family members and friends in honor of deceased veterans during a ceremony at the cemetery on May 13. |
By Lisa Wilcox
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — On May 13, the Northern Maine Veterans Cemetery in Caribou held a ceremony to raise the flags that make up the Avenue of Flags at the entrance to the grounds off Lombard Road.
This year, for the first time, each of the 30 flags will fly in memory of a deceased veteran. At the ceremony, family members and friends of the veterans had the honor of raising the stars and stripes after the honorees’ names were read.
Harry Hafford, chairman of NMVCC, was happy with the turnout, despite the cold temperatures that had settled in.
“It went very well,” Hafford said. “I was glad to see everyone there.”
Hafford had been gathering names for flag honorees for several weeks beforehand.
The ceremony began with a posting of colors from the Loring Job Corps Honor Guard. A benediction was given before Hafford read the names of the veterans the flags were being raised in honor of. The flags had been set at half-staff by cemetery staff prior to the ceremony.
“We raise flags to honor deceased veterans,” Hafford said during his closing remarks of the ceremony, “but they also serve as a constant visual reminder of all that veterans have done for our country and what the soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and the Coast Guard service people continue to do in defense of our country.”
Wilma Dow of Caribou was present at the ceremony to watch a flag be raised in honor of her late husband, Clarence Dow.
“It was nice to see it in person,” Dow said. “It was an honor to be here.”
The Avenue of Flags will remain raised this year until Veterans Day.
For a complete list of veterans for which the cemetery flags fly, please see our Caribou News section of the website.
Aroostook Republican Photo/Lisa Wilcox
Family members and friends raised the 30 flags that adorn the Avenue of Flags at Caribou’s Northern Maine Veterans Cemetery in memory of deceased veterans during a ceremony held on May 13.
