Flags For Vets: honoring the fallen on Memorial Day (UPDATE)

May is National Military Appreciation Month.

If you recall last year, I wrote an article about how I was donating clothing to the Disabled American Veterans organization as a way to raise funds for our veterans.  This year, I’m taking a different approach, and I hope that you would consider doing the same.

With Memorial Day on May 31st this year, it would be wonderful if every grave marker of a fallen veteran in our nation was recognized with an American flag next to it.  I remember participating in placing flags next to the grave markers at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (also know as “The Punchbowl”) in Hawaii.  I would walk up and down the rows, reading the grave markers for each person, learning about the war(s) they participated in, and then placing a flag in the ground to honor their service.  It was a very humbling and rewarding experience.

A friend of mine is participating in a similar event down in Gloucester County, Virginia this year.  With the help of the local Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts in the county, Flags For Vets hope to honor every veteran buried with a flag.  In addition, they hope to catalogue the graves for historical purposes, since over time, some cemeteries do “disappear” when left untended.  It isn’t uncommon to read in the news how a small Civil War cemetery is rediscovered in this region as real estate developers move into undeveloped areas.

If you are unable to participate in placing flags for the fallen, would you consider donating a few dollars to the cause?  Flags For Vets is looking for donations to purchase as many flags as possible this year.  Their goal is 3000 flags; the approximate number of grave markers in the county.  To donate (you can donate as little as $1.00 to purchase a flag), please follow this link to visit their official website.  Thank you in advance, and I hope you pause on Memorial Day to remember the sacrifices made by our brave men and women over the past two centuries to provide and protect the liberties you enjoy today.

UPDATE: Since I’ve already donated the majority of my ad revenue from the past two months, I’ve gone ahead and donated $20.00 towards this cause. This will be twenty more grave markers to be honored like the one I found yesterday while walking through Arlington National Cemetery. If I can, I’ll try to make my way back to Arlington in the hopes to get pictures of the cemetery filled with these little tokens of thanks for all of those that have gone before us.