Scouting America teaches young boys and girls many great values. One of the more important lessons in Scouting is Duty to God and country. The youth of Troop #433 and Cub Scout Pack #445- both from Winslow- certainly fulfilled that lesson on Friday May 23rd as they helped American Legion Post 5 in Waterville place just under 1000 US Flags at St. Francis and Oak Grove Cemetery in Waterville Maine upon the graves of veterans.
(photo by Chuck Mahaleris)
The day was heavy overcast with off and on drips of rain. Troop #433 and Pack #445 arrived at 4 p.m. Commander Craig Bailey of American Legion Post #5 was waiting with several totes of American flags to be placed out at the graves of deceased veterans. The Scouts eagerly took handfuls of flags and set out to various parts of the cemetery. They worked each row looking for foot markers showing military service time. “It’s unfortunate, we know there are several hundred more veterans in this cemetery who do not have military foot makers. This makes finding every single service member hard, but we do the best we can to find them all,” said Commander Craig Bailey.
The Scouts worked until 6:30 p.m., when they ran out of US flags. The Scouts then gathered for a brief photograph before departing. “We teach citizenship as one of the more important life lessons in Troop #433,” said Chris Bernier, Scoutmaster for Troop #433. “I personally believe that Memorial Day and Veterans Day are two of the more important days to remember. Showing our Scouts that we must remember and reflect on why they live in a free country is very important to me as it was taught to me by my Scoutmasters when I was a Scout.”
On May 26, Memorial Day, Troop #433 and Pack #445 returned to St. Francis Cemetery to participate in the Memorial Day Ceremony hosted by American Legion Post #5. In attendance were members of the Waterville Fire Department, the Knights of Columbus, the Waterville VFW post #1285, the Winslow VFW Post #8835. The ceremony commenced at 9:00 a.m., led by Commander Craig Bailey. The ceremony spoke of the sacrifices of all veterans during times of war. Commander Brandon Curtis of the Winslow VFW spoke about how our freedom is not free noting that there were thousands of soldiers who did not come back from war but instead paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms so we could live in a world where can vote for whom we wish in our elections; we can speak freely when we wish; we can also have differences of opinions and beliefs but still be neighbors. All of these freedoms have been protected by those who served in times of war.
The ceremony concluded with the sound of “Taps” being played by Nathanael Batson, a trumpet player and Eagle Scout from Fairfield, Maine. Shortly afterwars Commander Craig had a short departing prayer and everyone dispersed quietly.
Veterans. If you wish to join the American legion or the Veterans of Foreign Wars please go to www.legion.org , www.vfw.org
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https://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpg00Chuck Mahalerishttps://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpgChuck Mahaleris2025-06-04 12:16:532025-06-04 12:16:53Memorial Day: A remembrance of why freedom is not free
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