WEST POINT, N.Y. – More than one hundred members of the West Point community came out in full force to honor veterans during an American Flag planting event on Nov. 7 at the West Point Cemetery.
Community members, highlighted by the West Point Pack 23, Troop 23 Boy Scouts, Troop 23 Girl Scouts, the Girl Scouts of America and the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School (USMAPS) Men’s Lacrosse team, participated in planting American Flags at each headstone within the West Point Cemetery.
This event is one of two flag plantings that happen annually, the other is on Memorial Day, to honor those who served as our nation observes Veterans Day on Nov. 11. It allows the children, ages 5-17, who are involved in the Boys and Girls Scouts to recognize the service of others as they will someday grow into future leaders.
Helping put the flag planting event together was Elaine McConnell, who works as a Monographic Cataloging librarian at the USMA Library. However, as the unit commissioner for the Cub Scouts and Boys and Girls Scouts BSA unit, she contacts the West Point Cemetery Administrator, Jen McSwain, to determine the dates for the fall and spring events and confirms those dates with the scout leaders.
The group works efficiently to put more than 6.000 flags into the ground. The West Point Scouts have been doing the flag planting for more than 25 years and McConnell has been involved for more than 20 years.
"The project means a great deal to me for a number of reasons," McConnell said. "It is an incredible opportunity to introduce young people to the idea of service. This is also a project that people of any age can do as part of our community.
"Sadly, as the years go on, I find myself placing flags at stones of friends with whom I worked with over the years, and more recently, I now place a flag at the grave of my husband," she added.
Veterans Day is a United States federal holiday observed on Nov. 11. It began by marking the anniversary of the end of World War I, which formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the armistice with Germany went into effect.
Veterans Day commemorates the service of all U.S. veterans, whereas Memorial Day specifically honors those who died while in military service.