LYNN — The Capt. William. G. Shoemaker Post 345 American Legion is hosting its first-ever interment of flag ashes during the annual Flag Retirement Ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday at Pine Grove Cemetery.
Each year, the post collects retired flags and burns them during a Flag Day ceremony at Pine Grove, but usually the Department of Public Works disposes of the ashes. This year, the post is hosting a proper burial ceremony for these ashes, which will be placed in a newly created final resting place in the cemetery.
A memorial to hold the ashes was built in the Korean/Vietnam War burial section of the cemetery, thanks to donations from local businesses for the vault and the inscription.
The Shoemaker Post decided to do this after member Jack Marino read about a legion post in Alabama creating and implementing this idea.
“They (the Alabama post) didn’t like disposing of the ashes like trash and thought they should be disposed of in an honorable way,” Marino said.
On Saturday, there will be a ceremony for the 247th birthday of the U.S. Army and then another for the burning of the flags, followed by a procession to put the ashes into the vault.
Retired US Navy Capt. Steve Castignetti will perform “Old Glory” and cadets of the Marine Corps JROTC will perform the traditional retirement of the flag ceremony, which will finish with the placement of the flag ashes into the ground container.
The vault holding the ashes will be covered until next year when the post repeats the ceremony on Flag Day weekend 2023, and every year going forward.
Marino said all of the members of the post are excited to add the interment of ashes to their annual Flag Day ceremony and encourage anyone who wants to retire a flag to drop it off at one of the Lynn fire stations or bring it to the ceremony on Saturday.
Allysha Dunnigan can be reached at [email protected].
