For the sixth consecutive year, the Detachment was invited to participate in a ‘combined color guard’ for the Flag Day ceremony held each year at Valparaiso Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #988. This year the Detachment was given the honor to assist in posting colors for the event, with the addition of our brother veterans from the Porter County Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter #905 and from Valparaiso American Legion Post #94. As part of the ceremony, almost 200 worn and unserviceable American flags were “honorably retired.”

NEWS FROM THE CORPS
Uncertainty over a Marine base and plans to move thousands of U.S. troops to Guam are straining a post- World War II security alliance Japan and the United States set 50 years ago, but Tokyo's new leader said he stands behind the pact. Prime Minister Naoto Kan said he sees the arrangement as a crucial means of maintaining the balance of power in Asia, where the economic and military rise of China is looming large, and vowed to stand behind it despite recent disputes with Washington. "Keeping our alliance with the United States contributes to peace in the region," Kan said in a televised question-and-answer session with other party leaders. "Stability helps the U.S.-Japan relationship, and that between China and Japan and, in turn, China and the United States." Nearly 50,000 American troops are deployed throughout Japan.