Last Saturday was Flag Day. I flew the flag at my house on both Saturday and Sunday. I figure that patriotic holiday weekends often deserve double-day flag flying.

Memorial Day and Flag Day kick off what many consider the patriotic time of the year. I’ve seen some Sanpete homes already decorated in red, white and blue several weeks ahead of Independence Day on July 4.

Last Saturday was also the 250th birthday of the Continental Army which evolved after the Revolutionary War into the United States Army. Most of you know that there was a parade on Saturday in Washington, D.C., as a celebration of the birthday.

Whether the controversial parade was right, wrong or indifferent, I believe that our military should be honored. Those dedicated service men and women deserve our support.

From the very beginning, the seekers and defenders of freedom have been overwhelmingly committed and loyal. I believe that those who were sworn into the army last Saturday were likewise committed.

I got a renewed feeling of patriotism on Memorial Day. We happened to be in New England and spent most of the day at the Minuteman National Historical Park in Massachusetts.

We hiked more than 5 miles of the “Battle Road.” There are visitor’s centers and monuments — lots to see having to do with the events of April 19, 1775.

Seeing the Old North Bridge in Concord and being at Lexington Green where the first shots were fired of the Revolutionary War was impressive. It helped me visualize the history of the purported yells of “The British are coming, The British are coming” better.

Many of us only remember Paul Revere as the midnight rider who gave warnings on that famous night. Lesser known are the riders William Dawes, Samuel Prescott, Israel Bissell, and allegedly a woman, Sybil Ludington.

A quote attributed to her is, “I can ride as well as any man.” Some accounts have her riding nearly triple the mileage of Paul Revere — nearly 40 miles, in the dark, in the woods and in the rain. It is said that George Washington personally went to Sybil’s home and thanked her for her efforts.

Being in Revolutionary War country made me think of an old Bill Cosby comedy routine. When I was in high school, we used to sit around and listen to record albums of Bill Cosby, Bob Newhart and Flip Wilson.

Cosby speculated of how life would be if wars were conducted by having a coin toss at the beginning — like football games. If a coin had been tossed at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, the American colonists would have won the toss.

They would have announced some of the ground rules for the war as follows: “OK, you British soldiers — you have to wear red coats and walk in straight lines on the roads. We colonists get to wear whatever we want. And, we can hide behind rocks and trees and do our shooting from there.”

In any event, I believe all of our soldiers from all periods of our history should be remembered with appreciation. Probably the most celebrated are our veterans from World War II.

Some years ago, I read Tom Brokaw’s popular book, “The Greatest Generation.” Brokaw’s premise is that the American World War II generation is the “greatest generation.” The American military mobilized and stood up to enemies, which threatened the entire world. Those soldiers willingly and bravely fought the good fight around the world for the right reasons.

Others were needed on the home front and did a miraculous job of supplying the troops and sustaining the war effort. It was a phenomenal time.

Learning the history of that era is a fulfilling hobby for many. I have a friend who is incredibly well versed on World War II history. What America’s “greatest generation” accomplished is deservedly a source of national pride and worthy of study.

The stories are endless from that generation. Individual lives, families, neighborhoods, and communities were changed forever.

My dad was a civilian worker at Fort Richardson in Alaska during the war. His brother served in the Philippines. My mother’s brother experienced the terrors of the war in the Aleutian Islands.

My father-in-law got married and a few days later was on a transport ship for a tour of duty in Burma and India. He used to brag that he and my mother-in-law never had an argument during their first year of marriage. (He then usually clued people in that he and his wife were on opposite sides of the world during that wartime year.)

Of those family members I just mentioned, all have passed away. My dad-in-law was the last to go. He died 15 years ago, next month, at the age of 87.

Our “greatest generation” is fading away. It’s simply the passage of time and simple arithmetic. How many people do you know who are in their late nineties or past 100?

An interesting, possible twist on the WWII veteran story is related to one of my older brothers. He served in the army during the late ’60s and early ’70s and spent the bulk of his time in Berlin as part of the multinational, post-World War II occupation forces.

I suppose that it could be said, maybe even in a technically correct way, that he’s a World War II veteran at the current age of 78. It’s an interesting concept.

Happy birthday, Army! — Merrill