The flag flying at half-mast, the crowd gathered on Main Street, the wreaths, the flags, the veterans, the Boy Scouts and the high school marching band playing patriotic music all combine every year to give Mt. Pleasant a typical, American Memorial Day.

The VFW and the American Legion handed out hand-held flags, starched and standing out from the staffs that held them. The older people handled them carefully, but for a few younger people, who clearly had no idea what to do with them, they were just pretty cloth on a stick. That's sad, but it's not surprising. Someone had to teach all of how about what it all means, and we need to pass it along.