05/17/2020
Where We Plant Our Flag
In a small town less than ten miles North-West of Gettysburg Pennsylvania there is a peaceful hill surrounded by blossoming apple orchards and quaint farms. This hill in Arendtsville is the last resting place of over 200 veterans who have served our country in military campaigns ranging from the French and Indian War to the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Every Memorial Day, the youth of Boy Scout Troop 70 reverently place small American Flags at every veteran’s grave, and remove the ragged old banners from the previous year. This year would have been no different were it not for the manifestation of the COVID-19 virus. Our governor has told us to stay home, and the Department of Veterans Affairs has actually ”barred” troops from performing what they see as their patriotic duty. We knew this could not stand.
We at Troop 70 strongly believe that a nation that does not remember its veterans is undeserving of them. If we forget our vets, we are in effect disavowing the brutal and selfless sacrifices each and every one of them has made on our behalf.
With this in mind, our troop has mustered a squad of veteran leaders and executed a mission of civil disobedience. We have taken that hill and we have planted our flags. Let it be known to all who read this that we will not sit idly by and allow government overreach to cripple our duties. Nor will we succumb to fear of the COVID-19 virus.
Most everybody has seen a movie, TV show, or poster depicting a mother, wife, friend, or other family member pleading with their loved one not to go off to war. “It’s too dangerous.” “What if you don’t come home?” “We need you here.” But these are the sacrifices our veterans made to stand in the gap between freedom and tyranny. They risked life, limb, and eyesight to provide us with our blanket of freedom. So how can we allow a comparatively minor threat like a virus to stifle us in our endeavor to remember and take care of those who took care of us? The answer is simple; we cannot and we will not.
We are Ben Jones (Army), Hal Barnes (Navy), Mark Barnes (Marine Corps), Sam Mosholder (Army), Shawn Mosholder (Army), Russell Sykes (Army), Jeff Kain (Navy), Ferd Prenn (Navy), Jake Mosholder (Firefighter), and Rob Bennett (Scout Master). We have all taken an oath to protect and defend the constitution of the United States, and despite almost all of us being retired, there is not a power on earth with the authority to relieve us of our obligations under that oath. Woe be to those who get in our way.
Written by Sergeant Benjamin D. Jones (U.S. Army Retired) 15 May, 2020
Having been led by love of country.
