Dedication and Flag-Raising Ceremony at Music Pier

The daily Boardwalk flag-raising ceremony, a beloved tradition in Ocean City, continued on Memorial Day at a new location in front of the Music Pier. There was also a dedication. The program included the playing of the national anthem and a medley of patriotic songs, according to a city news release. A newly installed flagpole in front of the Music Pier was dedicated to the memory of three veterans from Ocean City: Joe Caserta, James “JR” Robinson and Bill Cruice. Family members of the men were on hand for the ceremony. Caserta, who died earlier this year at age 98, was a tank driver in some of the fiercest battles in Europe. His bravery earned him the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and countless other medals and honors. Robinson received two Purple Hearts and Presidential Unit Citation for his heroism in the Vietnam War. Cruice was a veteran of the wars in Korea and Vietnam, and a founder of the American Legion Post 524 here in Ocean City. Each was a regular attendee of the flag-raising ceremony. Families of the late service men attend the program. The flag-raising had been held in front of the water park on the Boardwalk at Plymouth Place. Representatives of the park and local veterans groups worked with the city to put together a program for the flag-raising in front of the Music Pier, where there will be more space and also opportunities for veterans and the public to participate in the daily ritual. The tradition of a flag-raising ceremony at the Music Pier dates back to July 4, 1940, and the event took on new meaning in the World War II years that followed before it was discontinued in 1946. In more recent years, the late Jim Gillian, owner of Gillian’s Island Water Park, first erected a flagpole during construction of an adjacent mini-golf course. The flag was requested by a veteran POW who ran on the Boardwalk every day. The flag-raising ceremony in front of the park began after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and has been held daily every summer since then from Memorial Day to Sept. 11. Crowds watch outside the Music Pier. (Photo courtesy of Ocean City)