Memorial Day program honors the flag and the fallen

The Tea American Legion Blau-DeBoer Post 266 held its Memorial Day program May 29.

South Dakota Secretary Shantel Krebs was the featured speaker. Krebs addressed a full house at the legion.

She relayed the story of how the state’s oldest flag was missing when she took office and was later recovered after an old state employee had stolen it. Krebs talked about how important the flag of South Dakota and the nation’s flag is to her.

She noted that we stand for the flag to honor the flag and show respect for those that fought for it. The flag is an extension of our nation’s ideals, Krebs said.

She talked about how the flag means something different to each generation. For her grandparents, it was watching the flag being raised in Iwo Jima. For her parents, it was the flag being planted on the moon. For Krebs, it was the flag being raised at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks.

Krebs said Memorial Day reminds us of those soldiers that gave their lives for their country and their countrymen.

In addition to Krebs, the program also featured music by the Tea Area High School Memorial Day choir, Airman Shari Schincke read the meaning behind the folding of the flag while the flag was being folded and a reading of “America’s Answer” from Jennaka Nelson.

After the program at the legion, the crowd traveled to the Tea cemetery where the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts raised the flag. The American Legion Color Guard did a 21 gun salute and played “Taps.”