We heed the words of our first Commander-in-Chief, General George Washington, who in 1798 said, “The willingness with which our young people will fight in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive that Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country.
The United States government provides a United States flag to adorn the casket of all US veterans upon their passing. If military honors are rendered at the funeral home or cemetery this flag is folded by representatives of that veteran’s branch of military service. The folded flag is then presented to the family on behalf of a grateful nation for the veteran’s military service.
After decades many families do not know what to do with these beloved souvenirs of their veteran’s military service. The folded flags are often placed up in a closet or attic and then long forgotten. In 2013, our Yorktown American Legion Post revived our ‘Honor Flag Ceremony’ to help families honor their deceased veteran loved ones and allow them to dispose of these burial flags with a wonderful tribute for their veteran. A beautiful flagpole and plaza were constructed across from our Post by a local Eagle Scout and the Town of Yorktown for our Post to conduct this solemn ‘Honor Flag Ceremony’. Families can contact our Post at #914-962-2843 and arrange to have this ceremony conducted for their veterans. A date will be selected for the family to come and join us as we conduct this short, but solemn ceremony honoring their veteran. Our Post members will offer a prayer before rendering a salute as the veteran’s burial flag is hoisted with the veteran’s military service branch flag flying below it. A glass case at the base of the flagpole identifies the veteran and their military information for all passersby to see. After being flown aloft for three weeks the family and our Post members return to lower the flag as a bugler plays ‘Taps’. The burial flag is then folded with care and the family has the option to have it returned to them, or have it retired in our Post’s Flag Retirement Ceremony that we conduct each June.
Honor Flags Flown
Richard J. Bingman | US Army | WWII | 6/29/2024 |
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Salvatore A. Grippo | US Navy | WWII | 6/08/2024 |
Jacob ‘Ken’ Blish | US Army | Vietnam | 5/18/2024 |
James D. Perricone | US Navy | WWII | 9/16/2023 |
Joseph Larsen | US Navy | Korea | 7/15/2023 |
Henry Ezera | US Army | WWII | 10/29/2022 |
Vincent J. Faggella Sr. | US Army | WWII | 9/17/2022 |
Dominick Sfarra | US Army | Vietnam | 08/27/2022 |
Peter Pizzuco | US Marine Corps | Other | 8/06/2022 |
Lawrence Iuso | US Army | Korea | 6/25/2022 |
Anthony R. Capitelli | US Army | WWII | 9/21/2019 |
Vincent Caporale | US Navy | WWII | 8/24/2019 |
Casper Faughnan | US Army | WWII | 8/03/2019 |
Clifford Brunelli | US Air Force | Lebanon/Grenada | 7/13/2019 |
Louis Saraceno | US Army | Korea | 6/22/2019 |
Vincent Grimaudo | US Army | Korea | 6/01/2019 |
Liborio ‘Lee’ DeFrancesco | US Army | Vietnam | 5/04/2019 |
Joseph Larsen | US Navy | Korea | 4/13/2019 |
James McKeon | US Navy | WWII | 4/22/2017 |
Vincent Farrell | US Navy | WWII | 10/15/2016 |
James F Guerra | US Army | Korea | 9/24/2016 |
Salvatore Pugliese | US Army | WWII | 8/06/2016 |
Walter F. Einwich | US Army | WWII | 7/09/2016 |
Charles Ostling | US Army | WWII | 6/04/2016 |
Algot M. Ostling | US Army | WWII | 5/07/2016 |
Lester A. Cornell | US Army | WWI | 4/16/2016 |
Pasquale Amoruso | US Army | WWII | 10/17/2015 |
David White | US Navy | Vietnam | 10/03/2015 |
James Francis | US Marine Corps | Vietnam | 10/31/2015 |
Harold Gilbert | US Army | WWII | 9/19/2015 |
Gerald M. Knapp | US Army Air Force | WWII | 9/05/2015 |
Sabastian D. Whalen | US Navy | WWI | 8/22/2015 |
Theodore Dobrowolski | US Army Air Force | WWII | 8/08/2015 |