Commander Andy Burke opened the ceremony with a short history about the national holiday and its origins.

VFW members then conducted a rifle salute and Samantha Angell played “Taps” as members raised the American flag to full staff.

Angell also played the National Anthem on her trumpet.

The ceremony was one of two that took place on Memorial Day in Tonganoxie, as American Legion Post 41 had a ceremony later that day at Maple Grove Cemetery.

VFW members also put up flags along Fourth Street and other spots in town, while American Legion members decorated veterans’ graves with smaller American flags at Hubbel Hill Cemetery just west of Tonganoxie on Kansas Highway 16 and at Maple Grove and Sacred Heart cemeteries just south of Tonganoxie on U.S. Highway 24-40.

Both veterans organizations take the lead on and participate in a variety of community events throughout the year, with the return of more likely as COVID-19 restrictions continue to loosen this summer.