Every year, in preparation for Memorial Day, scouts from Boy Scout Troops 22 and 284 come together on the Friday before the holiday to plant new flags on the graves of the almost 2,000 veterants buried in Mt. Lebanon Cemetery. The scouts arrive at 6 p.m. “rain or shine, unless there’s lightning,” said Brian Peltz, Troop 284’s assistant scoutmaster. Peltz says it takes about an hour to plant the flags.
Memorial Day differs from Veterans Day in that in honors military personnel who were killed in combat. Originally called Decoration Day, it has been a national holiday since 1868. According to statistics from the Veterans Administration, more than 650,000 troops have lost their lives in combat.
Mt. Lebanon’s Memorial Day celebration begins at 8:30 a.m., Monday, May 27, with a service at the Veterans’ Memorial on Cedar Boulevard. Guest speaker is Navy veteran Dominic Pellicciotti. A parade follows, ending in Mt. Lebanon Cemetery.