Veterans to be honored at 4th Annual Take Flight 5K
May 15, 2016
Prior to the start of Take Flight 5K 2016, an American flag will be folded 13 times in memory of Frank Wallace of Greenville, S.C.. Wallace will be honored for his service to our Nation as a veteran of the US Navy; and as a Civil Air Patrol mission pilot for the Greenville Composite Squadron.
“Flag Folding is an American tradition, often carried out at funerals and veterans holidays, like Memorial Day,” stated Ron Hardgrave, Commander of the Civil Air Patrol Composite Squadron and who will be leading the ceremony.
A flag will be carefully folded into the shape of a tri-cornered hat, symbolic of the hats worn by colonial soldiers during the war for Independence. Sometimes it is folded in silence and other times a verse accompanies each fold.
This time honored and precise procedure used for folding the flag is as follows: The flag is held waist-high with another person so that its surface is parallel to the ground. Special care is taken so that no part of the flag touches the ground. The Flag is folded in half lengthwise; folded in half lengthwise again, being careful that the blue field is on the outside. As one person holds the flag by the blue field, another makes a triangular fold in the opposite end and continues to make triangular folds until the entire flag is in a triangle. Then the loose edge of the flag is tucked into the pocket formed by the folds so that only the blue field and white stars are visible. The flag is then usually, and in this case will be, presented to a family member of the honoree.
America’s Civil Air Patrol is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and the Greenville squadron is coming up on its sixtieth year of operation. Members of the squadron will be present after Greenville Downtown Airport’s Take Flight 5K to greet visitors and explain CAP’s three primary missions. Civil Air Patrol provides emergency services, cadet programs and aerospace education for youth and adults. The open house is part of the anniversary observance designed to create a greater awareness of CAP’s presence and contributions in the community.
“You don’t have to do the 5K to come. Our entire community is welcome to attend and learn more about CAP” added Hardgrave.
Again this year the race organizers will be giving out one chance to win one prize to each person entered in the race so that people who never win 1st, 2nd or 3rd can maybe win a prize. You must be present after the race to claim the prize.
“We hope that this feature will encourage more people to enter, thus helping us raise more money to help complete Runway Park at the Greenville Downtown Airport,” stated Lanahan The organizers say that the park is in desperate need of restrooms and a paved parking lot.
What could you win? According to the race website: A bike from Regions Bank, Ice cream for 4 from Kilwins, 2 tickets to Centre Stage’s Explorer’s Club or Sisters of Swing, an all day membership to The Eagle Zone, a flight lesson from Flight School of Greenville, a basket full of fun from The Elephant’s Trunk, a gift certificate to the Runway Cafe, a puppy or kitten adoption from the Greenville Humane Society, A Soccer Shots season, first flight lesson from Stratos Aviation, Gravitopia passes, tools from McKinney Hardware & Lumber, a GMU hat or coffee mug or a Sunday brunch for two in the Westin Poinsett’s Spoon Bread Restaurant.
“Take Flight 5K will also have some very unique race prizes for those who do “win”. The Best Overall Take Flight 5K Male and Female winners will receive a cool airplane gauge mounted to an award base! Other prizes will also be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in different age and gender categories and everyone will get an event T-shirt,” noted Lanahan.
“After the race come get a glimpse of what The Military History Center of the Carolinas (MHCC) is planning to do to preserve our American Military History. Our mission is to honor veterans, teach school children and the general public about the Revolutionary War, American Civil War, World War One, World War Two, Korean War and Vietnam by interacting with real historical items that we have collected and restored. We are working hard to set up a special place where people can touch items not just view them in a glass case. This will be a great time to see what we have planned and what the new center will contain,” stated Wayne Scholtes, MHCC President Emeritus.
The Graham Foundation, CHUCK 97.7, Hot 98.1, 107.3 JAMZ, X98.5, Maserati Lotus Greenville, Touring Sport BMW / Triumph / Ducati, Spinx, Evergreen Recycling, Civil Air Patrol, RoundTowners and Fleet Feet Sports are sponsoring Take Flight 5K 2016.
The race will depart from Runway Park which is located next to the Runway Cafe at 21 Airport Road Extension, Greenville, SC 29607. For more information and to register for the event, please visit https://book-events.com/
“Not interested in running or walking down a real taxiway and runway during the 5K? Come out anyway! The Airport’s South Ramp will be full of Memorial Day activity for our whole community to experience” stated Joe Frasher Airport Director of the Greenville Downtown Airport.
About Civil Air Patrol (CAP)
Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer United States Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force, which also includes regular Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, along with Air Force retired military and civilian employees. Civil Air Patrol (CAP), in its Total Force role, operates a fleet of 550 aircraft and performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) and is credited by that agency with saving an average of 78 lives annually. Civil Air Patrol’s 56,000 members nationwide also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. Its members additionally play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet program. Performing missions for America for the past 75 years, CAP received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014 in honor of the heroic efforts of its World War II veterans. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.capvolunteernow.com for more information.
About Military History Center of the Carolinas (MHCC)
MHCC was originally formed in the mid 1990’s under the name Military Collectors Club of the Carolinas. In 2009, the group was incorporated in South Carolina as a non-profit and was approved as a tax-exempt 501-C3 organization by the IRS. The name was changed to Military History Center of the Carolinas in July 2015 to better reflect the full scope of MHCC operations. For more information about MHCC, please visit www.milhcc.org or contact Sam Cooper at [email protected]or 864-346-5026
About GMU
GMU is the busiest general aviation airport in South Carolina and is a self-sufficient entity with financial strength that doesn’t rely on local taxpayers for funding. GMU is home to Greenville Jet Center, the largest Fixed Base Operator (FBO) in S.C., as well as more than 25 other aviation-related businesses creating 453 jobs that annually contribute more than $35.2 million to the Upstate economy. For more information about GMU please visit http://www.
