There was plenty of patriotism on display at Sunday's parade through Franklin Square in honor of Franklin Square's own Michael Massimino, a United States astronaut who completed his first space mission.

Along the sidewalks, children and adults alike waved small United States flags, a representation of freedom and liberty. New York State Asemblyman Tom Alfano's chief of staff Scott Cushing and his helpers distributed bumper stickers reminding residents to "Support Our Troops."

Patriotism couldn't have been more evident than in the front of the parade where members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2718 and American Legion Post 1014 led the way.

Within the parade procession was a shiny van airbrushed by John Cassatto after Sept. 11 with the words "God Bless America." Within each letter is the depiction of a symbol of American pride such as man's first walk on the moon in the letter "M."

It's hard to believe that not far from the parade route was a residential area that has experienced incidents in which American flags were burned on citizens' property.

It's hard for some of the community's veterans to comprehend such an action. "People who do that don't understand what the American flag stands for," said Franklin Square Veterans of Foreign Wars member Tony Coscia.

Another VFW member Frank Cordomeyer speculated that the incidents could have been the behavior of kids. "We go into the schools and some of the kids listen and others don't," he said.

Commander of the Franklin Square American Legion Post 1014 Dennis Schlosser suggested that the American flag doesn't get the respect it deserves and the flag burning incidents are an example. "Our own government hasn't put a stop to burning the flag," he said.