By Kenneth E Camell, 303-494- 2013 Boulder Veterans Council
The Boulder Veterans Council hosts Boulder’s 12th Military Appreciation Week, May 19 to 26, 2014.
This is an excellent opportunity for Boulder area citizens to return to the original intent of Memorial Day, a day to pay tribute to the defenders of our freedom on today’s battlefields and to those veterans, deceased, who have served in the past. To formalize the celebration, the Mayor will sign an enabling declaration and, given the current world situation, the timing could not be better.
There are events planned for the week and all are free and open to the public. The week begins with placement of a flag on the grave of each veteran interred in one of the five Boulder area cemeteries. The Boulder veterans’ organizations are assisted by Boy Scout troops 69, 70, 77, and 575; CU ROTC Detachments; Flatiron Young Marines; and Knights of Columbus Assembly 93. This ensures that flags are in place when friends and relatives visit the cemeteries.
On Saturday 24 May, there is a musical salute to veterans by the Boulder Concert Band of Colorado at the Central Park band shell beginning at 11 a.m., a good place to begin your visit to the Boulder Creek Festival.
And while at the Creek Festival visit the Veterans Information and Support Booth on 13th St., just South of Canyon, 24-26 May.
A traditional Memorial Day Service at the Admiral Burke Memorial, on the corner of Mohawk and Pawnee Dr., Monday, May 26th beginning at 7 p.m. Please participate and attend one of these functions.
The organizer of these events is an informal coalition of Boulder veterans’ organizations consisting of representatives of American Legion Post 10, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 10, and Admiral Arleigh Burke Chapter of Military Officers Assoc. of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 807, and the Boulder County Veterans Service Officer. The Mayoral declaration further honors the service and dedication of the members of US Army, US Marine Corps, US Navy, US Air Force and the three Uniformed Services that are often overlooked the Coast Guard, the Public Health Service Commissioned Officer Corps and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps.