Members of VFW Post #7764 in Reidsville gathered in Collins at Charles Rushton’s Bobcat’s Diner to help post American flags on Friday, September 2, 2022, at 8 a.m., for Labor Day. Eight VFW members and one Auxiliary member participated in the effort. 

Debbie Stubbs, Collins City Clerk, contacted Commander Ronnie McCall on Monday, August 29, 2022, and asked if Post #7764 could help get the flags out for Labor Day since the individual who normally posts the flags had a serious medical issue.  McCall responded that the VFW would be honored to help and called Quartermaster Ronnie Thomas to put out the call for help. As is usual for a bunch of old military veterans, some already had doctors’ appointments, but eight showed up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to get on with the job at hand.

The torrential rains on Thursday made locating the flag bases a chore, and, according to Mayor Bobby Schwallenberg, some of the bases had been damaged by lawnmowers.  In many cases, some of the undamaged bases were covered with mud from the rainwater that covered the roads and sidewalks in some downtown areas the previous afternoon, and they were really hard to find. But, all in all, the mission went well. Some local merchants and citizens helped by pointing out where bases were located, and they were cleaned out and the flags were posted. 

Councilman Charles Rushton was the most experienced individual present, and he was able to get most of the flags loaded onto his truck before the VFW crew arrived. 

The flags will fly until after September 11, 2022, to commemorate the 9-11-01 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Virginia.