If you have lost a loved one during military service to our nation, if you have a loved one serving in the military right now, if you respect and honor our military men and women for protecting us day and night, then you may want to attend the annual Memorial Day Honor Guard at the Boone County Courthouse at noon on Monday, May 28. This will be the 18th year that cadets of the Boone Composite Squadron continue a Memorial Day tradition that was begun by a former CAP cadet, Jason Garretson. The Memorial Day Honor Guard, fashioned after the Honor Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown, is marched non-stop for 24 hours by the local cadets to honor the Boone County veterans who gave their life in service for their country. Regardless of heat, cold, rain or sun, the cadets march, beginning at midnight Sunday night and concluding at midnight on Monday night. To highlight the purpose of the Honor Guard, a special ceremony is conducted at Noon on Memorial Day on the courthouse steps. The cadets are joined by members of VFW Post 5578 to remember, by name, each soldier who died defending our freedoms. Each name is read by a cadet and, at the conclusion of the reading, the CAP Cadet Commander and two members of the VFW hang a wreath on the railing in front of the memorial statue on the courthouse lawn. TAPS is played by the VFW, and everyone present takes time to reflect on the ultimate price that many have paid to protect America’s freedoms. The Boone Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol has been in operation for 55 years, serving Boone County and the State of West Virginia by providing cadet leadership training, emergency services search & rescue, aerospace education and community service projects. Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 61,000 members nationwide. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 113 lives in fiscal year 2010. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the more than 26,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for 69 years. It is a major partner with Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. For more information on Civil Air Patrol, visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com or www.capvolunteernow.com. Anyone seeking more information about the local Squadron may call Major Carol Martin at 304-860-1747 or SM Chuck Shultz at 304-549-7901. You may also email Major Martin at vandcmartin@suddenlink.net