Left...right...left (but not in so many words)

Some friends and I journeyed over to Rosslyn Tuesday evening for the Sunset Parade at the Marine Corps War Memorial, known to some as the Iwo Jima Memorial. Or, as my brother's Scottish rugby coach called it, "That statue of six guys stealing a pipe." Funny people those Scots.

I've been to the parade before, twice in fact, but it's still a pleasant way to spend a summer evening. Here's a couple of pictures of the Silent Drill Platoon.

As we walked in, we noticed a bit of a commotion over this fellow here:

He was introduced as retired Col. George "Bud" Day, a former Marine who received the Medal of Honor for his actions as a prisoner of war in Vietnam (he was in the Air Force by then). Here's a picture of the flag they unfurled as he arrived in the reviewing area:

A blue field with 13 white stars, just like the ribbon around his neck. It's the first one I've ever seen. Just after Day was escorted to the reviewing stand, his former Hanoi Hilton cellmate Sen. John McCain arrived to a round of cheers and applause. (I don't know they were actually at the Hilton, but I'm using that as an example. Day and McCain did share a cell.)

First to take the field was the Marine Corps Drum and Bugle Corps.

And after the musical portion of our program, the boys who work without words were up. Like the announcer, I'll point out those M-1 rifles weigh 10 or so pounds and that is a bayonet attached to the muzzle. Just sayin'.

And the big finale: A bugler playing Taps and a 21-gun rifle salute before they marched off into the sunset.

If you're looking for something to do next Tuesday, head on over to Rosslyn for the last Sunset Parade of the summer of 2009.