Grafton, West Virginia: Why?
We failed to get a picture of this, so you’re just going to have to trust us. Grafton, West Virginia has more American flags than all of Washington, D.C. It’s not even close.
The first thing we noticed is that every single house, apartment, and condo had an American flag in front of it. Some of them had a large flag flying and then smaller flags in the middle. Some of the flags had little baby flags hanging from them. The flag poles were made of flags which were attached to porches, railings, and awnings that were also covered with flags.
If that wasn’t enough, we passed a town square on the way out that was surrounded by no fewer than 40 large American flags.
Why?
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Grafton, West Virginia is the home of the oldest continuous Memorial Day celebration in the United States – since 1864.
Taylor County is home to two National Cemeteries – The Grafton National Cemetery (Civil War era) and The West Virginia National Cemetery at Pruntytown (just west of Grafton).
West Virginia has the highest per capita rate of military service of any state in the nation.
We take Memorial Day seriously. It is important to honor those who have served and those who are now serving. We honor the memory of all those we have lost.
“Home of the Free because of the Brave”
MK Stover - May 26, 2008 at 6:21 pm |
Well…there you go. Thanks for the explanation!
Josh Crain - May 27, 2008 at 2:18 am |
You also forgot to mention a couple of things:
1. Grafton is home to LOTS and LOTS of WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and Gulf War I and II Veterans.
2. Grafton IS small-town America.
3. People that live in Grafton are proud to call it home.
4. As previously mentioned, Grafton is home to 2 national cemetaries where a lot of veterans are buried.
I can go on and on, but why bother? You seem to have a problem with Americans proudly displaying the American flag. Just remember that if it weren’t for people such as the ones that live here and are buried in these cemeteries, you wouldn’t have the freedom to post asinine rantings about seeing too many flags in Grafton.
Have a nice day and don’t forget to thank a veteran!
David Cantu - May 28, 2008 at 11:06 am |
Actually, you guys both forgot to mention a couple of things:
1. Grafton lays claim to Charles S. Marshall as a native. He was a United States Air Force Colonel, WWII hero, recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, and father of the writer Billy Marshall Stoneking and grandfather of C. W. Stoneking.
2. Grafton is the birthplace of Mother’s Day, and has chosen to erect a shrine in order to commemorate it.
3. Grafton’s Memorial Day celebration was actually started in 1867, not 1864, according to the town’s official website. This places it not as the oldest one in the nation, but among a host of other cities such as Sharpsburg, Maryland and Alton, Illinois as having some of the oldest. Truth in point, it’s likely that Malvern Memorial Parade in Pennsylvania has considerably more history than that of Grafton. Still, that doesn’t take away from the fact that Grafton can lay claim to one of the oldest in the nation.
4. If it weren’t for people such as the ones that live in Grafton and are buried in its cemeteries, David wouldn’t have the freedom to call me asinine on my own blog.
Thanks for the comments, gentlemen, and stay cheeky, Grafton!
Josh Crain - May 28, 2008 at 2:34 pm |
Well, I gotta say. That there sounds a little redneck. It seems like somethin you might see in a weird horror movie about some kids on a road trip that go into a small backwoods town in W.V. where flags hang on every house but nobody seems to be home, and they are never to be heard from agin. Crazy asinine hillbillies.
Crusty Old Guy - May 29, 2008 at 11:34 am |