If you drive past a cemetery on Memorial Day, you might notice small American flags planted next to certain cemetery plots. That's because in recent weeks, volunteers have placed flags next to the headstones of military veterans.
Less than a week before Memorial Day, a group placed American flags next to the graves of veterans at Calvary Cemetery in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The sky was gray, and the on-again, off-again light rain seemed designed to annoy.
Volunteers were getting ready to pack it up and head to a neighboring cemetery when Dara Cassidy, 11, saw a divot in the grass next to a grave.
A small plaque embedded in the ground, hidden under a tumble of grass, identified Charles B. Collins as a veteran of World War I. Dara planted a flag on the left side of the grave, and moved on.
The tradition of grave-flagging goes back generations in the United States. In the weeks leading up to Memorial Day, volunteers place flags next to plots at military cemeteries like Arlington and Gettysburg National Cemeteries, and also neighborhood ones.
In Holyoke, a group of kids from Blessed Sacrament School partnered up with a few National Guardsmen and community members.
Lilly Nadler, a sixth-grader, braved soggy socks to place flags after school because, she said, veterans should be appreciated even after they’re gone.
“These are veterans who served our country, helped fight in our wars, get us freedom, and some of them don’t even have family left,” she said. “They deserve to have at least a flag put on their grave."
Across the graveyard, National Guard Specialist Gregory Wise, 24, was pacing the graves with his eyes toward the ground, searching for veterans' plots. He wore fatigues, and held at least a dozen small American flags.
Wise volunteered for this, because he sees it as part of his duty, he said.
“I think it’s important that we’re out here doing it, because… we’re the next generation that’s still serving, and still supporting the guys who came before us,” he said. “Without them, we wouldn’t be able to serve today.”
Those soldiers earned that visible remembrance, Wise said, adding, “I do hope that it’s done for me one day, and that the generation that comes after us still supports the people who came before them.”
On the front edge of the cemetery, John Cavanaugh was flagging graves for the first time. The 67-year-old Holyoke resident said he decided to help out after seeing an ad in the newspaper.
In addition to honoring the dead, Cavanaugh got a kick out of the direct link to the past.
“I saw one of a guy that was Air Force who died in 1943, so he probably died during World War II,” Cavanaugh said. “There’s a history here.”
Anthony Armstrong, 8, and Landon Koziera, 10, were also planting flags. They both recommend this work to other kids.
“I think it would be good for them,” Landon said.
Anthony agreed, with a stipulation.
“But don’t get into, like, 2-year-olds,” he said. “Five and up is good.”
