The Flag Tells the Tale at VFW Ceremony

It was a ritual that started quietly, about some 15 years ago.

Veterans who belong to the Bernardsville and Basking Ridge Memorial Post 7858 would gather each morning and late afternoon the week before Memorial Day to raise and lower the flag outside the Bernardsville Post Office.

established after Sept. 11, 2001, which took as a toll more than 20 residents of the Somerset Hills, then began serving breakfast and an early dinner for the veterans after each flag ceremony.

Now, local children are more than ever a part of the daily flag folding, readings and and patriotic singing that accompany the growing tradition.

Joseph Bennett, commander of the post, said that the post office has been kind enough to let the veterans gather in the back during those years.

He and the other veterans were greeted and thanked by children and adults in the crowd.