This is a article about one of the CFN's friends. I hope to see you all on wednesday.
Weekly flag ceremony honors service members
By JENNA CHANDLER The Orange County Register
ORANGE
As taps played, 11 jacketed veterans lowered the U.S. flag in the Orange Plaza, inside the traffic circle.
The weekly Wednesday evening tradition takes place even during the rain. The veterans want to honor the service members fighting around the world.
For the motorcycle-riding veterans and the few who watch, the ceremony is also a way of remembering fallen service members and the freedom that the flag represents.
“It's just horrible to be forgotten,” said Marine Corps veteran and Orange resident Mark Wayland. “It's a fear that everyone has.”
Most of the veterans, including Wayland, belong to the Patriot Guard Riders, a national group that got its start escorting the families of dead service members at funerals.
The Wednesday event in Orange began as a response to the anti-war protesters who stand across from them.
“Negative ads like that don't help our troops. It never has,” said Wayland, whose son fought in Iraq several years ago.
So about a year ago, Wayland and a few others began holding a sign that read “Support our troops.”
The ceremony “is a type of a counterprotest, but it's very civil,” said Beckie Takashima, 22, a Chapman University student who plays taps for the Patriot Guard Riders each week.
Their counterprotest progressed when Wayland got city permission to lower the flag in military fashion. Before the organization came along, one man was doing a folding job that should take eight to 10 people, he said.
Wayland enlisted to fight in Vietnam in the late 1960s and raised the flag overseas whenever he had the chance.
When he sees a U.S. flag he thinks of the service members who raised the flag at Iwo Jima.
“I get a chill,” he said. “They were going to run that flag no matter what.”
Most of the anti-war protesters who stand at the opposite end of the Plaza feel the same way. A few are veterans or have family members serving in places such as Afghanistan.
Orange resident Ed Garza is one of those veterans. He and his comrades want the troops fighting in Iraq to come home now.
Despite differences in ideology, Garza and some of the others who stand with him will help fold the flag.
“It's about respect for the flag and our country,” Garza said.
The Patriot Guard Riders arrive at the Plaza at about 4 p.m. The crowd of onlookers is small in the winter and tends to grow in the summer.
Those interested in watching the ceremony should arrive by 5:30 p.m.
Wayland says the flag folders often recruit observers to help.
“We show everyone how it's done,” he said.
The ceremony may continue for as long as U.S. service members are fighting.
“It's not about us. We're not trying to call attention to ourselves,” Wayland said. “It's about respect for the flag and trying to show the public that there are still servicemen in harm's way.”
Weekly flag ceremony honors service members
By JENNA CHANDLER The Orange County Register
ORANGE
As taps played, 11 jacketed veterans lowered the U.S. flag in the Orange Plaza, inside the traffic circle.
The weekly Wednesday evening tradition takes place even during the rain. The veterans want to honor the service members fighting around the world.
For the motorcycle-riding veterans and the few who watch, the ceremony is also a way of remembering fallen service members and the freedom that the flag represents.
“It's just horrible to be forgotten,” said Marine Corps veteran and Orange resident Mark Wayland. “It's a fear that everyone has.”
Most of the veterans, including Wayland, belong to the Patriot Guard Riders, a national group that got its start escorting the families of dead service members at funerals.
The Wednesday event in Orange began as a response to the anti-war protesters who stand across from them.
“Negative ads like that don't help our troops. It never has,” said Wayland, whose son fought in Iraq several years ago.
So about a year ago, Wayland and a few others began holding a sign that read “Support our troops.”
The ceremony “is a type of a counterprotest, but it's very civil,” said Beckie Takashima, 22, a Chapman University student who plays taps for the Patriot Guard Riders each week.
Their counterprotest progressed when Wayland got city permission to lower the flag in military fashion. Before the organization came along, one man was doing a folding job that should take eight to 10 people, he said.
Wayland enlisted to fight in Vietnam in the late 1960s and raised the flag overseas whenever he had the chance.
When he sees a U.S. flag he thinks of the service members who raised the flag at Iwo Jima.
“I get a chill,” he said. “They were going to run that flag no matter what.”
Most of the anti-war protesters who stand at the opposite end of the Plaza feel the same way. A few are veterans or have family members serving in places such as Afghanistan.
Orange resident Ed Garza is one of those veterans. He and his comrades want the troops fighting in Iraq to come home now.
Despite differences in ideology, Garza and some of the others who stand with him will help fold the flag.
“It's about respect for the flag and our country,” Garza said.
The Patriot Guard Riders arrive at the Plaza at about 4 p.m. The crowd of onlookers is small in the winter and tends to grow in the summer.
Those interested in watching the ceremony should arrive by 5:30 p.m.
Wayland says the flag folders often recruit observers to help.
“We show everyone how it's done,” he said.
The ceremony may continue for as long as U.S. service members are fighting.
“It's not about us. We're not trying to call attention to ourselves,” Wayland said. “It's about respect for the flag and trying to show the public that there are still servicemen in harm's way.”
