Flags honoring military to fill football field

One thousand American flags will wave and fill the Hoosic Valley Central School football field in Schaghticoke in honor of our nation’s veterans and active-duty military personnel during Memorial Day weekend.

Most of the flags have a tag that honors and includes a tribute to a veteran or an active-duty member of the military.

A committee of patriot women and men led by Marilou Pudiak-Town, of Schaghticoke, the project co-chairwoman, has been working on the project and overcoming logistical challenges for months.

Hundreds of the 3-by-5 foot flags with 7-foot-tall poles have been sold at $40 each, with proceeds benefiting the Capital Region Patriot Honor Flight, a nonprofit group that flies World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans on one-day free excursions to Washington, D.C. The veterans and their guardians visit war monuments, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery and other historic sites. The next flight from Albany International Airport will be on June 18.

Flags are still available and may be purchased or sponsored at the Field of Honor at www.healing-field.org/schaghticokeny22.

The Field of Honor will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. next Monday, May

30. (On Monday, people can pick up flags they have purchased between noon and 6 p.m.)

A dedication ceremony will begin with a parade at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. A color guard from the Rensselaer County sheriff’s office will be among the marchers.

Clyde McCaskill of Hoosic Valley Community Church will give the invocation. Pudiak-Town will give the welcoming address. Scott Lamb, director of the Gerald B. H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville, will be the keynote speaker. Justin Frisceno will lead Boy Scouts in the Pledge of Allegiance. Kelsey Dodd, a Shaker High School student, will sing the National Anthem as well as “Proud to Be an American.”

The closing ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 30. John Sassatelli will perform bagpipe music. Lynne Hardy of the Presbyterian United Church of Schaghticoke will give the invocation. Ross Wilber will perform “Taps.”

Cemetery representatives will be on hand to answer any questions regarding burial benefits for veterans.

A veterans tent with refreshments will be open all weekend. Veterans and their families can meet therapy dogs Rosie and Ferra, led by a Vietnam War veteran. The canines specialize in helping combat veterans deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. Rosie and Ferra will be present at the Field of Honor opening ceremony and periodically throughout the weekend to visit with veterans.

Crafts, activities and honorable flag folding instructions are available for children and others in a children’s tent sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Nancy O’Donnell of Schaghticoke, Field of Honor program chairwoman, will be available to answer questions regarding the history of the American flag.

The American flag traces its history to Betsy Ross, who sewed a design provided by Congressman Francis Hopkinson that officially became our nation’s symbol on June 14, 1777, according to O’Donnell.

The flag is often referred to “Old Glory” since a Civil War-weary 10-by-17 foot American flag was found, she said. That flag is preserved in the Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

“With (today’s American flag) with its 50 stars representing each state and 13 stripes dedicated to the Colonies that fought for independence from Great Britain, this longstanding symbol of American freedom and the American dream speaks through its colors,” she added.

The colors reflect the attributes of the men and women who have served, are serving and will serve to defend our great country, she said.

“Red symbolizes hardiness and valor, white purity and innocence, and blue signifies vigilance, justice and truth,” she added.

The first Field of Honor originated nearly 20 years ago when founded by Paul Swenson of Sandy City, Utah. He decided to memorialize every life lost in the Sept. 11 terror attacks, said O’Donnell. Swenson, CEO of Colonial Flag Foundation, now provides opportunities for community organizations to host their own Field of Honor.

Military honors

The Patriot Guard Riders of New York’s Veteran Recovery Program has made arrangements for two unclaimed remains of veterans to receive military honors.

A service will be held for the cremated remains of Marine Pvt. David Scott and Air Force Airman William H. Stisser at 1 p.m. Friday, at the New Comer Funeral Home, 181 Troy Schenectady Road, Watervliet.

Afterward, the Patriot Guard Riders on motorcycles will escort the remains to the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville for interment services with military honors at 2:30 p.m.

Scott enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1964 and was honorably discharged. Stisser served in the Air Force during the Korean War. No other information is available on these veterans, according to Bill Schaaf, PGR captain.

“Patriot Guard Riders of New York Veteran Recovery Program works with funeral directors to determine whether there are any unclaimed remains in the possession,” said Schaaf. “If so, after researching and determining that those unclaimed remains are those of a veteran, the Veteran Recovery Program arranges for military honor burials at a national cemetery.”