One of the fascinating things about staying in lodging on
post, is you get to see and experience things you probably wouldn’t normally have
the chance to experience. Case in point- the “Retreat” ceremony. Since we've
been in Germany, I had been noticing a big, booming sound going off in the late
afternoon. One day, the Hubs, and I were driving home, and we came up to a place on post where
cars stopped in the road, and people were out of their vehicles, standing, and
looking towards the direction a song was playing. Since the Hubs had served, he
was able to shed a little light on the subject. I, being curious, dug around
further, and was able to find more information.
The Retreat ceremony begins at 5 pm, the end of the duty
day. "Retreat" is played first, and upon the last note, a cannon is
fired, finally, “To the Colors” is played. Uniformed
soldiers, soldiers not in uniform, and civilians alike all have special ways of
paying their respects to the flag.
Here are a couple links I found to be helpful. You may also find them to be helpful in learning how to pay the proper respect to the flag, as well as a little more history on the ceremony:
Once we all were able to experience the ceremony first hand, it has become something the kids have looked forward to at 5 pm every day.
We are fortunate enough to see the soldiers from where our room is located, and
the kids can watch the ceremony as it takes place. It is a really beautiful,
and amazing thing to see our uniformed soldiers performing such an
important and historical tradition.
I posted this pic to my US Navy Vets page, Got a few post saying that the kids are raised to show respect. And good job to the parents. Love you guys.
ReplyDeleteAww! Thanks, Dad! We love you too! We went to see a movie yesterday here on post. They play the national anthem before the movie starts, and they play a video of different things around the military community here. You can't help but have a sense of pride.
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