The Duvall King County Fire District 45 is inviting all Valley residents to a special flag ceremony, to be held at 8:00 a.m., Saturday, May 20th, at the Duvall Fire Station Headquarters (15600 1st Ave NE).

Additionally, military personnel, retired and active, and their families are invited to be honored guests during the ceremony.

Readers will recall that during the past year, the Duvall Fire Department participated in the Hero To Hero Morale Campaign, sending their own T-shirts to soldiers serving in Iraq. One group of soldier firefighters sent to the Duvall firefighters in return, an American flag that had been flown at their fire station, Camp Iraqi Freedom, in Baghdad.

That flag will be raised during a brief ceremony beginning at 8:00 am.

The Star Spangled Banner will be played by the joint bands of Tolt Middle School and Cedarcrest High School, and Sean Morris will play his bagpipe during a moment to remember fallen soldiers. Elementary age school children will have the opportunity to bring their “Heggie and Friends” coloring page that was distributed to their schools.

Duvall City Mayor Will Ibershof will read the City of Duvall Proclamation which designated the date as “Hero To Hero Armed Services Day.”

Under the leadership of President Eisenhower, in 1949, the third Saturday in May was designated as Armed Forces Day. It is a day on which to honor and celebrate all branches of our armed services. This year, that date is May 20.

Liz Jackson, founder of HeroToHero, says on on her Web site, “Hero To Hero is firefighters, law enforcement and first responders across America giving the shirts off their back for our deployed troops. No politics! No pro or anti war! Strictly morale for our deployed troops and their families!”

For more information, go to www.herotohero.us/. Military personnel who wish to participate in the color guard may contact Deputy Chief David Burke at dburke@duvallfire45.com.