‘I Have Seen Him in the Watch Fires of a Hundred Circling Camps’

Members of Carmel Boy Scout Troop 14 assist Karl Rohde (center) and other veterans “retire” Old Glory in a burning barrel at the Putnam Veterans Memorial Park in Kent last weekend. Eric Gross Thousands of American flags were properly “retired” over the holiday weekend, courtesy of Putnam County’s veterans.

Vets accompanied by Boy Scouts participated in the county’s annual watch fire celebration at the Putnam Veteran’s Memorial Park in Kent.

Former New York State VFW Commander Karl Rohde of Lake Carmel explained the “watch fires symbolized campfires that burned at Union headquarters during the Civil War that allowed soldiers to locate their units. They also were used during the Revolutionary War to signal troops.”

Putnam’s watch fires acted as a deterrent to crime since volunteers manned the fires from 6 pm to 6 am on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. During the Memorial Day weekend in 2005, vandals entered the park under the cloak of darkness and painted anti war graffiti on an Army helicopter, a tank, an anchor, and on the parking lot with red paint.

Despite an investigation by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and Kent Police the perpetrators were never found.

Rohde said the act of vandalism affected “every veteran within our county. It tore our hearts out. We decided that weekend to never let this happen again. Spending time at the park over the holiday weekend allows us to reflect on the past, while teaching those who visit why Memorial Day is such an important holiday.”

Rohde, who now serves as New York State VFW Quartermaster, added: “Out of something bad came something good.”

—Eric Gross