Mercer veterans hold flag retirement ceremony

By RICHARD JENKINS

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MERCER, Wis - A small crowd gathered in Mercer Veterans Memorial Park Friday for the third annual flag retirement ceremony.

Several organizers of the event spoke about the importance of the flag before both the American flag and the Prisoner of War/Missing In Action flag were replaced with new versions and the old flags disposed of in the proper manner.

This year's ceremony not only reminds people of proper flag etiquette but also honors veterans of the Vietnam War, organizer Marge Pemble explained.

"Today is POW/MIA recognition day and the Vietnam veterans were very critical in getting (the day recognized)," Pemble said. "Another reason we dedicated it to the Vietnam veterans is (this year) is also the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War."

Construction of the memorial began in 2004, Pemble said, after a group of residents who formed to send care packages to local soldiers deployed in Iraq decided to also provide a site to honor the area's veterans. The flag pole was erected first, Pemble said, with the rest of the memorial and flag retirement basin constructed around it.

"When we got done sending care packages and our boys were all back home ... we drew up a rough sketch, and we got a group behind us, we went to the town and the town said 'yeah, go ahead,'" Pemble said, adding that she and her husband always stop at veterans memorials when they travel and wanted to replicate the feeling they experienced in Mercer.

Work continues on the park, according to Pemble, with the installation of a POW/MIA memorial set for October.