Honor Flag Program

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. BingmanUS ArmyWWII6/29/2024
Salvatore A. GrippoUS NavyWWII6/08/2024
Jacob ‘Ken’ BlishUS ArmyVietnam5/18/2024
James D. PerriconeUS NavyWWII9/16/2023
Joseph LarsenUS NavyKorea7/15/2023
Henry EzeraUS ArmyWWII10/29/2022
Vincent J. Faggella Sr.US ArmyWWII9/17/2022
Dominick SfarraUS ArmyVietnam08/27/2022
Peter PizzucoUS Marine CorpsOther8/06/2022
Lawrence IusoUS ArmyKorea6/25/2022
Anthony R. CapitelliUS ArmyWWII9/21/2019
Vincent CaporaleUS NavyWWII8/24/2019
Casper FaughnanUS ArmyWWII8/03/2019
Clifford BrunelliUS Air ForceLebanon/Grenada7/13/2019
Louis SaracenoUS ArmyKorea6/22/2019
Vincent GrimaudoUS ArmyKorea6/01/2019
Liborio ‘Lee’ DeFrancescoUS ArmyVietnam5/04/2019
Joseph LarsenUS NavyKorea4/13/2019
James McKeonUS NavyWWII4/22/2017
Vincent FarrellUS NavyWWII10/15/2016
James F GuerraUS ArmyKorea9/24/2016
Salvatore PuglieseUS ArmyWWII8/06/2016
Walter F. EinwichUS ArmyWWII7/09/2016
Charles OstlingUS ArmyWWII6/04/2016
Algot M. OstlingUS ArmyWWII5/07/2016
Lester A. CornellUS ArmyWWI4/16/2016
Pasquale AmorusoUS ArmyWWII10/17/2015
David WhiteUS NavyVietnam10/03/2015
James FrancisUS Marine CorpsVietnam10/31/2015
Harold GilbertUS ArmyWWII9/19/2015
Gerald M. KnappUS Army Air ForceWWII9/05/2015
Sabastian D. WhalenUS NavyWWI8/22/2015
Theodore DobrowolskiUS Army Air ForceWWII8/08/2015