Sidney school band members perform during the Memorial Day program held at the VFW.
Despite being moved indoors because of rainy weather, the VFW and VFW Auxiliary provided a respectful Memorial Day program in Sidney again this year.
Gene Ronningen, parade chairman, noted the parade couldn't take place that morning because the flags are burial flags and must be kept in the best condition possible.
Keith Olson, a retired Air Force officer and a current service officer for the Montana Veterans Affairs, remembered the fallen heroes during his keynote speech.
He mentioned the veterans' statement, "A veteran is someone who, at one point, wrote a blank check made payable to the United States of America for an amount of up to and including their life."
Olson said that since 1775, a number equal to the population of Dallas has died serving the United States.
He praised heroes such as Scobey's Henry Schauer, Sidney native Darren Linde and Bismarck's Tyler Orgaard for giving the ultimate price.
Olson closed by reading the poem, "Honor Our Military."
The program also featured musical selections by the Sidney High School band and a flag folding ceremony led by Violet Tharp and Margaret Bradley.
Tharp said the VFW Flags of Honor now features 627 flags. The facility, located at Veterans Memorial Park, will soon have plaques explaining the purpose of the Flags of Honor. Tharp noted the flags include four from the Civil War, five from the Spanish-American War and 132 from World War I.
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