'The flag has super special meaning to me'

Vietnam veteran Don Wendt sat in rapt attention during Monday's Flag Day ceremony in Elgin.

Holding a small flag like many of the about 50 people in attendance, he watched with unwavering attention as flags from various eras were posted and an old flag was retired in a burning ceremony. His eyes were always on the flags.

"I was on funeral detail when I got back from Vietnam," Wendt said afterward. He and the pallbearers would fold the flag that was draped on the casket. "I was the one who had to present it to the mother, the wife, the daughter. The flag has super special meaning to me."

The event is put on annually at Veterans Memorial Park by the Elgin Elks Lodge 737, with the assistance of American Legion Post 57.

In delivering the main remarks, Elks Lodge exalted ruler Frank Celarek said the flag "is a beacon for millions."

"The greatest significance of this flag lies in the influence it has in the hearts and minds of millions of people," he said. "It has waved over the unparalleled progress of a nation in developing democratic institutions, scientific and technological knowledge, education and culture."

Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777. National Flag Day was established by an act of Congress in 1949.