Avenue of Flags needs better care – with an album
Just who is sacrificing?
Avenue of Flags needs better care
On Monday I went up to Mt. Rest Cemetery to watch them put up the Avenue of Flags. The more I saw the more I wanted to see.
First after they took the wagons out of the shed there were still several flags left in the shed. Why?
If they needed repaired or replaced, they had six months to get it done. This made me want to see more.
At the gate was a sign saying the flags would only be up six days. In 2007 we had said that they would be up seventeen times. What a drop!
Then I watched as they put them up. The bases had not been pre-cleaned out, flags went up crooked.
Then I got closer and looked at the flags up close. Man, was that a mistake.
First I saw moth holes, no mothball protection last fall. Second I saw mold which tells me they were put away wet. Several of them had rips in them anywhere from two to six inches long. And then there was the big holes.
Many of them had holes as small as a golf ball others had holes large enough to fit a softball through them. Then there is the nylon flags, the proper military casket flag is a five by nine and a half foot “Cotton blend” not nylon. It is your Veteran and your flag demand cotton!
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The name can also be placed on the hoist of the flag,. None of the nylon flags have names, so how can you tell the flag that represents your Veteran apart from the others?
A properly cared-for cotton flag will last as long if not longer that the nylon flag as long as some one takes care of them with respect and dignity. I do have photos to prove all of the points that I have made in this letter today. If you want to see proof don’t hesitate to ask me.
Veterans and families wake up! The Avenue of Flags is being poorly taken care of. At this rate it will be gone in four to five years.
Demand that someone take care of them the way that they should be taken care of, with respect for the family and the soldier that the flag represents. My group spent seven years of our sweat and work keeping them in great shape, and all as a volunteer group under David Miller.
Get the Avenue of Flags and all its assets under someone that has the respect to proudly do the work and keep the Avenue of Flags a truly wonderful sight to see.
A proud Vietnam Veteran,
Erick J. Richards
Just who is sacrificing?
We hear the phrase “shared sacrifice” frequently being bantered about by both Washington D.C. and Lansing. In reality though, just who is sacrificing? It’s certainly not our politicians!
Washington politicians receive full pay during their retirement after merely 1 term. In contrast, our brave men and women in uniform, who truly sacrifice every day to defend us and to preserve our liberties receive only 50% retirement after a whole 20 years of service.
Months ago, when there was talk of a federal government shut down our brave men/women in uniform would have gone without pay. However, the politician’s pay would have continued as usual.
Many of our children and grandchildren are burdened with massive student loan debt. Did you know that family members of our politicians don’t have to repay student loans?
Lansing recently passed legislation requiring public employees pay 20% of their health insurance premium. However, the politicians are exempt.
Politicians are exempt from the nearly broke social security system. They, of course, have a far more luxurious plan to count on. Our senior citizens have not even received a cost of living adjustment in years. So can you believe that our elected ‘leaders’ voted for themselves to receive (certainly not earn) a $36,000 a year cost of living increase?
Also, our politicians have made themselves exempt from both Obama Care and Medicare. Once again they have provided themselves with a far superior plan. And the monthly per person Medicare insurance premium will almost triple by 2014.
These are only just a few examples of the special privileges and tax free benefits our politicians have blessed themselves with at our expense.
So the next time a politician says “shared sacrifice,” be sure to ask him or her, “who is the one really doing the sacrificing around here?”
Michael Trebesh, CPA