Flag Day Celebration 2026

Come out to Point Park on Sunday, grab yourself a burger from The Food Pitt food truck, ice cream from Tom and Dot's Gelato food truck, and wander your way down to the Memorial and browse the info booths before or after the ceremony.

Depending on the weather, the event program is expected to start at 2 P.M. with Matt Tepper of the Old North Dayton Neighborhood Association introducing the Master of Ceremonies, Representative Andrea White. She will lead the ceremony through invocation by Rabbi Klatzkin, Father Konerman, and Pastor Chestnut, the raising of the Flag and singing of the National Anthem by Ahrian Cunningham, and then the Recognition of Dignitaries.

Following this, the rededication of the Memorial and the recognition for the addition of two new Veterans: PFC Michael D. McNaughton and Corporal Craig Nelson Ward of the United States Marine Corps. The time capsule will then be opened by The Modern Monument with the findings publicly announced. Following this will be the commemoration for the 80th anniversary of Corporal Tony Stein's Congressional Medal of Honor award for his actions and bravery during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. After this, the new Assistant Chief Brian Johns will be sworn and in Jerry Bolling III will conclude the ceremony with a thank you to those in attendance.

When this concludes, all in attendance will be free to browse the informational booths.

It was an honor and a privilege planning out how to create the Tony Stein information booth and many hours of thought and work went into its development.

I started by choosing the longer 8' table so I could stretch the display across two trifold poster displays. I then chose my three favorite letters or letter excerpts from Tony's records at the St Louis Personnel Records Center and then selecting various portraits of him, other important photos, quotes regarding him and his life, and a larger photo of the USS STEIN named after him.

I then had the photos printed as squares with white borders to give a sharp contrast look to the black background of the trifolds and backed everything with additional black foam board.

It is difficult to tell based on the still photo but the posters have a 3D effect and I am pleased with how it turned out. Tell me in the comments what you think. :)

The table will be covered in a black stretch tablecover and in front of the trifold posters will be a black binder people can flip through of some of Tony's records. There will also be a copy of Curt Dalton's book, as well as a photo book I had made regarding the North Dayton Patriots Memorial history since 1944 and the time capsule mystery through a collection of newspaper articles over the decades.

I also purchased a detailed Iwo Jima map and had it framed but before it was framed, I used Canva to create a map legend and customized the map for Tony. It marks his Company A's beach entry point, the approximate area where Tony Stein fought, and a small gold star marking the approximate point near Mount Suribachi where a hidden Japanese sniper took his life.

But wait, there's more... another family mystery ... and other wild news which recently made this upcoming event even more special.

Learn more in the next blog post. :)