Memorial Day, 1942 came to this small town of Gibbon and everyone involved was lining up for the parade. The diner was closed for Memorial Day, and Bob Smith had a float ready for the parade. “Reg, I just can’t thank you enough for letting me use this flat bed truck for my ‘Gibbon Diner Float’.” “That’s okay Bob, I’m glad you decided to have a patriotic theme for your float, and I know that Rose and Lorraine will look especially nice up there.” Rose and Lorraine had helped Bob with the float, and had selected red, white, and blue streamers twisted from the front to the back. The girls stood in the middle of the float. One was standing as the Statue of Liberty, while the other was displayed as being a reflection in a big mirror of the Statue of Liberty. “Lorraine, do I look silly?” “Silly? You look great Rose!” The two girls started laughing so hard they just about fell off the truck, and Bob said with a smile on his face, “You two had better be careful, or I’ll be picking up one Statue of Liberty and one broken mirror.” That started them laughing again, but they were holding on to the side rails that Reg had put up for them to keep them from falling off of the truck.
The parade started at the park, right across the street from Bud’s house, and everyone had dressed in a patriotic theme. Bud and his friends were waving their little American flags, and had spread out across the front of the parade. The Gibbon High School Band followed close behind them. Bud said to his fellow commandos, “Alright guys, let’s show everyone how important it is to be patriotic.” Bud was in the middle, splitting the five boys with two on each side, this made a very impressive starting line-up for the parade. The excitement was building, and the five boys were beginning to bounce around. They were anxiously waiting for the parade to start. Finally the band leader blew his whistle, and the parade was underway.
The parade was heading toward Highway 30. Jack in his patrol car was on one side blocking the traffic coming from Grand Island, and another patrolman’s car blocked the traffic from Kearney. When Reg’s, truck, decorated with crepe paper, drove across Highway 30, his passengers; who were Jean and her four friends: Margaret Ann, Nancy, Lucille, and Delores were all dressed in red, white, and blue outfits. They were also waving their little American flags. People stopped at the highway and didn’t seem to mind a bit, as they were out of their cars and waving at everyone passing by in the parade. The parade marched through town; first going down Main Street past the Moon Theatre, and finally ending up at the high school. Everyone gathered around the grandstand, near the high school, which would be the platform for the speeches.
The mayor of Gibbon approached the podium and asked Erskine Claar to open the festivities with a prayer. Bud’s Grandpa Claar said, “We are in the middle of a terrible war, and many of our loved ones are far away from home defending our country, so I would like to take this opportunity to ask for one minute of silence in their honor.” You could almost hear a pin drop on the grass in front of the grandstand; it was absolutely quiet for the full minute. “Dear Heavenly Father, we ask Thee, to give our men and women in the service of our country, Thy protection and daily blessing. Be with them we pray and guide them in their daily paths toward freedom. Amen.”
The mayor returned to the podium, and asked the five boys that had led the parade to step up on the grandstand. Bud and his friends climbed up on the Grandstand and stood by the mayor waving their small American flags. The mayor said, “I want to take this opportunity to both thank and congratulate you five boys for bringing this ‘Flag Project’ idea forward. This is a great way for us to show appreciation to our young men and women in the armed forces who are fighting for our freedoms all over the world. Bud, I’d like you to tell these people about the ‘Flag Project’ you boys created.”
With a very red face, Bud stepped forward. “My friends Duncan and Donny are the ones that started this idea rolling, and all of us chipped in to make this ‘Flag Project’ complete. We want to thank Mr. Ross and Jack Shaunesey for their help in making it happen. Mr. Ross let us meet in his barn and Jack rounded-up the small flags for us to use in the parade and for all the young people in Gibbon to have. I would like everyone here to say the pledge of allegiance to our flag, in honor of all our heroes serving in the armed services, and we five boys will lead you.” The crowd joined them in saying the pledge of allegiance to the flag and after the cheering from the crowd subsided, Bud’s sister Jean said to her friends, “This is one time when I’m actually proud of my little brother.” All her friends agreed.
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