WPCNR Stars and Stripes. May 31, 2004: In a moving ceremony under traditional somber skies today, White Plains marched to the White Plains Rural Cemetary to honor its war dead.

The ceremony was highlighted by Grand Marshall, the New York Army Guard Colonel Michael McBride remembrances of the neighborhood "war code" of the white flags in the windows of his old neighborhood in New York. Photo by WPCNR News.

The Colonel noted that a white star on a white flag in the window indicated you had a member of the family in the service during World War II. He explained that when a white star turned to gold in a window "that meant that family member was not coming back."  He said that one day he noticed 4 gold stars on a white flag in one family's window when he was just 5 or 6 years old, and that it brought tears to his eyes to think of the sacrifice.  He said he remembers seeing those 4 gold stars all his life, "as if it were yesterday."

He recalled how White Plains citizens sacrificed in the Battle of White Plains in the American Revolution, and how White Plains residents were among the first to die for their country to be. He told the story of the prison ships of the British, where 20,000 rebels died. He concluded his address saying, Americans back then walked through "the black door" of freedom, calling "America the greatest country, the greatest hope for mankind, and we should hold our heads high under our flag. It's here, and we're going to keep it here."

RIFLE SALUTE TO AMERICA'S FALLEN: The Firing Squad of American Legion Post # 135 commemorates the sacrifice of America's war dead just prior to the playing of a very moving Taps by Robert Fries, husband of Lesley Tompkins, Director of the White Plains High School Marching Band. Mr. Fries somber and elegant Taps drifted warmly across the melancholy ground, playing the last stanza in a moving somber finish conveying admiration, reverence, and a haunting immortality. Photo by WPCNR News.