'It's an honor': Volunteers place 35,000 flags at veterans' gravesites for the Memorial Day ceremony in Milwaukee
Some came to remember their family members. Others brought children to teach a lesson about service.
All wanted to honor the sacrifice made by America's military veterans.
Hundreds of volunteers placed 35,000 flags across Wood National Cemetery in Milwaukee, one for each gravesite, in preparation for Monday's annual Memorial Day ceremony.
Among them were 6-year-old Myrtle Huolihan and her 4-year-old brother, Timothy. The kindergartener's Daisy and Brownie Girl Scout troop from Wilson Elementary in West Allis took part in the volunteer event.
"I hope it's at least a start to educating them about our military and what our veterans do and their service for us," said their mother, Amanda Huolihan, whose husband served two tours in the Army National Guard, one in Afghanistan and the other in Iraq.
"They're so little and it's so hard to explain how important it is," she added. "It's really important to honor those who serve other people. I want them to be those people when they're older."
Ken Janca, of Menomonee Falls, was one of the first to arrive at the cemetery Saturday morning. Now retired, he regularly volunteers through the fraternal organization of Catholic Financial Life, which first took part in the flag-marking effort last year.
Even before then, Janca said his family stopped at Wood National Cemetery nearly every Memorial Day to visit the grave of his grandfather, who served in World War I. Janca's father served in World War II.
"It's a great feeling just to thank our servicemen for what they did for our country all these years," he said.
Leon Woolford, an Air Force veteran who was stationed in Thailand from 1973-77, also has relatives laid to rest at the cemetery where he now works. His grandfather's brother and his adopted parents — the couple who took him in when he moved to Milwaukee from Chicago — are buried there.
"It's an honor," said Woolford, of his work as a cemetery technician.
He started his job more than 17 years ago, after being introduced to it as a participant of the Veteran Affairs' comprehensive work therapy program.
"I love this job because I help people," he said. "It's something that I wanted to do to give back, and I found it, and it was just perfect."
Monday marks a return to a public Memorial Day ceremony, after private events were held the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Laura Beckel, a cemetery technician and Army veteran who served as a medic from 2010-17.
Volunteers also are needed to remove flags starting at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. Beckel, Woolford and other cemetery staff inspect each flag, drying them if necessary, before storing them for next year.
Memorial Day first was observed on May 30, 1868, in honor of Civil War soldiers and included the tradition of decorating gravesites with flowers, wreath and flags.
"It's a day to honor and remember our veterans that gave us everything," Beckel said.
What to know about Milwaukee's Memorial Day ceremony
What: Memorial Day ceremony themed "Remember and Honor" to honor fallen veterans, their families and prisoners of war or missing in action who never made it home
When: 9 a.m. Monday with an opening concert, followed by the official program at 9:25 a.m. and an aircraft flyover at 10 a.m.
Where: Wood National Cemetery on the Milwaukee VA campus, 5000 W. National Ave.
More: 4 things to do in Milwaukee during Memorial Day weekend 2022
Contact Ashley Luthern at ashley.luthern@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @aluthern.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Veterans' graves at Wood National Cemetery decorated for Memorial Day
