All flags should be lowered to half-staff today, in honor of Memorial Day. They should remain lowered until sunset this evening, which will be 8:12 pm.

President Obama released a proclamation on Friday, a "Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 2013," which said in part: 

“Since our Nation’s earliest days, America has been blessed with an unbroken chain of patriots who have served our country with honor and distinction. From Concord to the Korengal, generations of brave warriors have fought for freedom across sand and snow, over mud and mountains, into lonely deserts and through crowded streets. Today, we pay tribute to those patriots who never came back — who fought for a home to which they never returned, and died for a country whose gratitude they will always have.

“Scripture teaches us that “greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” On Memorial Day, we remember those we have lost not only for what they fought for, but who they were: proud Americans, often far too young, guided by deep and abiding love for their families, for each other, and for this country. Our debt to them is one we can never fully repay. But we can honor their sacrifice and strive to be a Nation equal to their example.

“On this and every day, we must meet our obligations to families of the fallen; we must uphold our sacred trust with our veterans, our service members, and their loved ones.

“Above all, we can honor those we have lost by living up to the ideals they died defending. It is our charge to preserve liberty, to advance justice, and to sow the seeds of peace. With courage and devotion worthy of the heroes we remember today, let us rededicate ourselves to those unending tasks, and prove once more that America’s best days are still ahead. Let us pray the souls of those who died in war rest in eternal peace, and let us keep them and their families close in our hearts, now and forever.”

In addition to the lowering of flags, President Obama’s Memorial Day proclamation designates “the hour beginning in each locality at 11 am of that day as a time to unite in prayer.. I also ask all Americans to observe the National Moment of Remembrance beginning at 3 pm local time on Memorial Day.”

VFW Post 308, on Tinkerfield Road, will be holding a . This year’s Memorial Day ceremony will feature First Selectman Pat Llodra as a guest speaker.Ceremony of Remembrance at 11 am

All are welcome to join VFW members for the ceremony.