Saluting Veterans at NHSN on Memorial Day

Hollyanne Phelps arrived early so she'd have time to find the flag bearing her father's name.

"Where are you, Dad?" she said. "I know you're here." 

Phelps was among those who'd come to Nashua High School North on May 28 for the solemn Memorial Day ceremony honoring local veterans.

Leading up to the event American flags were sold by students for $5, a fundraiser for the National Honor Society. Seventy-five percent of proceeds will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project, which supports battle-injured veterans.

A group of veterans from Nashua's VFW Post 483 were among those present, seated front and center, along with a bus load of residents from Huntington assisted living, among them Bruce and Louise Rankin, both veterans of World War II.

"Sing your song," Bruce Rankin said to his wife, Louise, 90, who was a lieutenant in the Navy WAVES. And with no hesitation whatsoever, she burst into song [see video], ending with a satisfied smile.

Minutes before the brief ceremony began Phelps found the flag with a simple yellow tag bearing her father's name.

"There you are," she said, adjusting her camera lens so she could take a close-up. 

She said it meant so much to her to be able to honor her father through this memorial service at her daughter's high school.

"It's a wonderful gesture. I'm so happy to have this chance to honor my dad," she said.