Scouts plant Memorial Day flags

Local troops pay tribute despite COVID-19 restrictions

By JOHN RECH

news@theeveningtimes.com

The coronavirus pandemic has put a halt to many events here in Crittenden County, but one local tradition didn’t stop due to the coronavirus.

As they have done for years, local Scouts placed American flags on the graves of veterans at Crittenden Memorial Park to commemorate Memorial Day. The VFW cancelled plans for a military memorial service at the Cemetery this year with no state-issued COVID-19 health guidelines for large

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Although COVID-19 concerns put a stop to the VFW’s traditional Memorial Day gathering, local Scouts still upheld their annual planting of the flags at Crittenden Memorial Park, paying tribute to the local heroes who served their country, taking care to stay in family circles and practice social distancing.

Photos by John Rech MEMORIAL

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public gatherings and the numbers of its older members at elevated risk for the coronavirus.

The pandemic didn’t tamp down the Cub Ccouts, Webelos, and Boy Scouts from honoring veterans, though. Eight scout families from Pack 172 and Troop 72 planted Old Glory on every veterans’ grave in the cemetery. The scouts from Marion continued the generation-long tradition in the face of the pandemic, a fitting salute to the war dead and veterans who have passed on.

Photo by John Rech