Monday morning's early breeze did more than kept the somber audience of onlookers cool as they stood in the bright sunlight and the shade along Oregon Avenue for the annual Memorial Day service on May 25 in Arbutus.
The breeze also snapped to attention the U.S. flags carried by members of the 27 Original Flags Unit of the Arbutus-based Dewey Lowman American Legion Post 109.
The intermittent traffic on nearby Sulphur Spring Road and Carville Avenue occasionally broke the silence of Monday morning's event, sometimes making it difficult to hear the short speeches by post officials and 1st District County Councilman Tom Quirk and the singing of Cass Schreiner.
But for much of the ceremony, which lasted less than 30 minutes, the crowd of at least 150 paid silent tribute to those who had given their lives in service to their country.
The 27 Original Flags Unit, which includes each version of the U.S. flag since the first version of 1777, stood at attention for the entire ceremony,.
Many in the crowd saluted as the unit retired the colors while Phil Penne of the post played "Taps" followed by "Amazing Grace" on his bagpipes.
This year's version featured a new component, the dedication of a plaque honoring Vietnam veteran Brian Wehner. The Arbutus native was killed while serving in Vietnam in 1967, and his death in the service of his country had only recently come to the attention of Arbutus resident George Kendrick.
Kendrick, who has often said he was familiar with many of the names on the plaque at foot of the flagpole near the intersection of Sulphur Spring Road and Oregon Avenue, led an effort to have Wehner's name on a plaque to be placed by the stone memorial to other Arbutus natives who died serving their country.
"Today was a lot better, " said Chuck Catterton, commander of the Dewey Lowman Post. "We dedicated a plaque to a Vietnam veteran, which was really apropos. Tom Quirk gave an excellent speech. The Marines [in dress blues] being here, a bigger crowd."
For Del. Terri Hill, a Columbia resident who had just completed her first term in the Maryland General Assembly representing District 12 that includes Arbutus, Catonsville and parts of Howard County, the ceremony was a special event.
"I think Councilman Quirk summed it up," she said, referring to her fellow Democrat's short speech that honored those who died defending the freedom Americans enjoy today and also noted the numerous displays of U.S. flags and other patriotic symbols in and around Arbutus throughout the year.
"It's the way I feel when I come here. This is what America was built on. It's small town America at its best," she said. "I love what the people of Arbutus continue to say about community and America.
"Charlestown has a wonderful display," she said, referring to the annual Field of Honor of U.S. flags on the senior living community campus a short distance away. "But it has a slightly different focus.
"The setting is larger. It has a little more global feeling," she said. "This is about America, about local."