Modesto dairy plant celebrates Flag Day

Crystal Creamery celebrated Flag Day on Tuesday by raising the Stars and Stripes on a new pole at its Modesto dairy plant.

Leaders with the Veterans of Foreign Wars lifted the flag to the top of the 40-foot pole, then lowered it to half-staff in memory of the Orlando, Fla., shooting victims.

“Our flag is the symbol of freedom, liberty and equal rights for all,” Walter Mendez, vice president of human resources at Crystal, said at the start of the event.

It also honored the 40 military veterans who are among the 450 employees at the Kansas Avenue plant. It produces fluid milk, yogurt, butter, ice cream, powdered products and other items. Another 460 people work at Crystal’s other California locations, which also have new flagpoles.

Jason Simpson, commander of VFW Post 3199 in Modesto, was the master of ceremonies. Will Gomez from the same post played taps on a bugle. VFW Post 10293 in Ceres also took part.

Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the American flag on June 14, 1777. Tuesday was the centennial of the first observance under a proclamation by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916. President Harry S. Truman made it a national day in 1949.

This story was originally published June 14, 2016 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Modesto dairy plant celebrates Flag Day."