OXNARD : Senior Citizens Raise the Flag, Finally

Overcome by emotion, Charles Parsons, 73, wept Friday as he led a group in the Pledge of Allegiance during a Flag Day ceremony at Maywood Acres Healthcare facility in Oxnard.

The World War II veteran and a fellow resident, Lucy Arnold, 93, had tried for over a year to get their flagpole repaired and obtain an American flag. Many patriotic residents were frustrated during the Gulf War because they could not fly a flag to support the troops, administrator Frances Foy said.

“Why can’t you get us a flag to fly on top of that pole?” Arnold, president of the residents’ council, had asked Foy.

Barbara Cupp and Barbara Schultz, who often visit Arnold, helped her write a letter to Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura).

The congressman obtained a flag that flew over the Capitol in Washington.

The 97 residents and staff members who gathered in the courtyard patio watched a four-man volunteer color guard from the Naval Construction Training Center in Port Hueneme raise the flag.

As a soloist sang “The Star-Spangled Banner,” Nancy Brunton wept because she was unable to stand for the occasion.

Ned Breazeale, a 90-year-old veteran of World War I, said, “I’m proud to be an American.” “I thought it was a beautiful ceremony,” said Cupp as she handed out slices of cake afterward.

“The residents will remember it for years and years to come.”