MUNSTER – Flag Day activities Friday, June 14 begin at about 4 p.m. when Munster Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2697 and Munster American Legion Post 16 will retire used American flags. The flag retirement will be conducted on the south side of the Veterans Memorial grounds, near the Viet Nam venue.
Cannoneers of VFW Post 2697 will fire a “Salute to the Union” at 6 p.m. Fifty rounds will be fired along the north shore of the lake, near the World War I venue.
At 7 p.m., the Hammond Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lodge 485 will conduct a special Flag Day ceremony in the north circle, near the flags. Scout Troop #206 will assist the Lodge with the commemoration.
The 6.5 acre Memorial has become a major tourist attraction, and commemorates the sacrifices and achievements of veterans of major military conflicts that shaped the 20th Century. The idea for the memorial was developed in the late 1990s when a group of local veterans came together to talk about creating a place that honors the nation’s war heroes. The final design encompasses three main goals: to remember, to educate and to challenge.
The park is located at 9710 Calumet Avenue in Munster (just 2.5 miles south of I80/94) on the west side of Calumet Avenue, just north of Sheffield Ave. It is open dawn to dusk and the Memorial Day activities will be held rain or shine. Admission is free. To learn more, visit www.CommunityVeteransMemorial.org.
