Roy Thacker, commandant of the Marine Corps League’s Col Phillip C. DeLong Detachment #1267 in The Villages, is pleased the Recreation Department agreed to add their American Flag program as a brand new Camp Villages activity this summer.
A Patriotic Flag Making session was held twice on Thursday morning, with 26 grandchildren ages 8-12 attending each session at the Eisenhower Regional Recreation Center. It was scheduled to be held three days before Flag Day, which is Sunday, June 14.
The Marines’ patriotic Flag Making program will be repeated at Eisenhower in the same time slots on July 2, two days before America’s July 4 Independence Day.
“The original idea was mine,” Thacker, who served in Marine Corps. communications — making telephones and switchboards, said, “but then other League members, including Matt Armstrong and Phil Riggins, added ideas to expand the program — so it was a cooperative effort.”
“We think this is very important to do, because a lot of children are not being taught much about American history, our Constitution or patriotism in school any more. Like many Americans who take our way of life for granted, many school-age children don’t realize how hard troops have fought through the years to maintain America’s freedoms.”
“The Marine Corps. League detachment is the only military organization in The Villages with a Camp Villages program this year,” Thacker added, “and we hope the idea catches on. We hope the kids enjoy it and go home excited about our flag and our country.” This also was the first Camp Villages program ever held at the military-themed, museum-like, Eisenhower facility.
The multi-faceted program was a big hit.
Each Camper made a small 13 Star Betsy Ross flag to take home — representing the original thirteen colonies — from foam materials in kits the Rec Department put together. While the youngsters were assembling their flags, with help, when needed, from volunteers and their grandparents, a few of the 28 historic American flags, flown over the years, were shown, with an explanation given about what each flag represented.
“We thought the kids were too young to hear about all 28 flags in one session,” Thacker continued, “so we selected the 15-star flag which flew over Ft. McHenry and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star Spangled Banner. We also picked the 24-star flag, which earned the name ‘Old Glory;’ and the 48-star flag most of us in my age group grew up under — before Hawaii and Alaska became the 49th and 50th states in 1959 — on January 3 and August 21, respectively.”
The MCL honor guard presented the colors; the group said the Pledge of Allegiance; and the kids were shown how to property raise and lower the flag on an indoor flagpole. “You raise it swiftly, and lower it slowly and with reverence,” a Marine demonstrator explained to the group.
Poinciana Village resident, Garf Cooper (USMC Ret.) led the children in some marching exercises, showing them how Marines come to attention, ‘right face,’ ‘left face’ and ‘about face.’ After the participants stood at ‘parade rest’ — at arms length with their backs straight and their eyes at an angle, Cooper led them in a double file ‘cadence’ march around the rec center, standing erect with their arms swinging at their sides. This exercise very obviously energized the group.
“I think you have heard of Ben Franklin, who was one of our Founding Fathers in colonial times, Cooper said, “but you may not have heard about Friedrich von Steuben. He was a Prussian-born American and a Major General in the Continental Army during the American Revolution against King George of England. Von Steuben taught our rag-tag troops proper military drills, tactics and discipline — so they looked and acted like soldiers. This can mean the difference between winning and losing the battle.”
“In this country, we believe in the fundamental freedom of the individual — and the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” Cooper continued. “The early Patriots had fire in their bellies, and they fought for the freedoms we enjoy today, for us, for our families and for the future.”
The program concluded with karaoke singing of “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”
Nick and Michael D’Alessandro, visiting their grandma, Maureen Beam in the Village of Glenbrook, liked the signals they learned for marching and also folding the flag. “I’m going to hang my flag on my bedroom door,” Nick said. His older brother is going to find a place to hang his new colonial flag as well. “Somewhere, Michael pondered, “but I’m not sure where yet.”
Ryan Brown, visiting his grandma, Sally Byrnes, in the Village of Duval Village, thinks he wants to be in the Air Force — maybe a pilot.
His cousin, Addison, thinks she may join the Army, and her younger sister, Lily, loved learning the military-style march.
“I liked that they are real Marines and fought in Vietnam,” she said. “Their shoes were so shiny. I want to be a co-pilot!”
Piedmont Village resident Pat Ciccarelli’s granddaughters, Madelyn, 8, and Isabella, 9, were visiting from Davenport, Florida.
“They look all through the Camp Villages catalog themselves, and tell me what they’d like to do,” Ciccarelli said. “They picked this Flag program themselves. They’ll be back several times during the summer, and they already have other Camp Villages things lined up. They love it here.”
Before and after the session, several kids were excited to see all the military uniforms, medals and the eagle sculpture on display at the Eisenhower Recreation Center. Grandparents were telling the youngsters who President Eisenhower was, and about some of the Generals and Admirals who have rooms named after them. Vietnam Veteran John Lepore, who recently moved to The Village of Lake Deaton, was looking through a large book of Army photos with his grandson, Johnny Lepore, after the program. “I liked everything about the Marines,” Johnny said. “This was so cool!”
Thacker hopes today’s youth will want to learn about American history and our flag, and become acquainted with America’s great military forces.
“I, for one, was mostly interested in baseball when I was young, and didn’t like to study much. The Marine Corps. was a good career for me. Enlisting in a branch of the military — whether the Marine Corps., the Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard or Merchant Marine, can give young people discipline. They can learn a trade or profession, and it can help them find direction to put their lives on track. I hope the military will be an option more people consider,” Thacker said.
