During Veterans Appreciation Week, the Old Colony (MA) Young Marines par- ticipated in a number of events from Bourne, MA to Washington, DC to honor those who have served our country and those who died serving our country. On November 4th, the Old Colony Young Marines helped load trucks and the place some of the 68,000 flags on the fi- nal resting place of veterans at the Mas- sachusetts National Veterans Cemetery in Bourne, MA. Two weeks later, the members of OCYM returned to the Bourne National Cem- etery on a cold and windy Sunday after- noon to retrieve all of these flags. Operation Flags for Vets is a program organized by Paul Monti, the father of posthumous Medal of Honor recipient SFC Jared C. Monti, KIA in Afghanistan in June, 2006 at the age of 30. Each Memo- rial Day and Veterans Day, the OCYMs, staff and their families arrive at the National Cemetery, and haul the bins of American flags to place the flags. As part of the commemoration of The Wall’s 35th Anniversary, the Old Colony Young Marines were honored to help the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) for the “2017 Reading of the Names” for all 58,318 service members inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Wash- ington, DC. The Vietnam Veterans Me- morial Fund honors and preserves the legacy of service and educates all gen- erations about the Vietnam War. It takes more than 2,000 volunteers four days to read all 58,318 names.The three Young Marines from Old Colony trav- eled from Massachusetts to Washington D.C. to read hundreds of the names late in the night of November 8th, in frigid and wet weather. As Young Marines read through the names, people sat for hours in the damp cold night, listening to the names of the fallen. Some listened for a specific loved one or comrade in arms, while others listened in silence, in front of the black granite walls of the Memo- rial. On Friday, November 10th, Old Colo- ny performed color guard services at the annual United States Marine Corps Birthday celebration for the 1st Lt. Brian McPhillips Marine Corps League Metro South Detachment 1115 at V.F.W. Post 2547 in Easton, MA. In attendance were Commandant J.J .McGrath, Sr. Vice Com- mandant Rik Coffman, Jr., Vice Com- mandant Patrick Ballinger and Chaplain Roger Hoffman. The MCL Detachment is named after Brian McPhillips, a 1996 graduate of BC High and a 2000 gradu- ate of Providence College. McPhillips served with the 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division and was killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom at the age of 25 in April, 2003. Each year Young Marines from Old Col- ony are honored to present the colors at the McPhillips MCL detachment’s USMC Birthday celebration. -- Submitted by John Kelliher, Executive Of- ficer, Old Colony (MA) Young Marines Old Colony: A Unit Very Proud to Honor Our Nation’s Veterans Our Young Marines unit honors those who have served our country and those who died serving our country. Clockwise from Top Left: Old Colony (MA) Young Marines place flags on veterans’graves, perform color guard services at Marine Corps League birthday celebrations, and participate in the read- ing of names at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC. Old Colony: Honoring and Remembering 14 YOUNG MARINES ESPRIT ONLINE