Through the cold and rainy weather, community members honored fallen veterans this weekend by placing American flags on their graves.
Organizations including the Brazos Valley Chapter of the National Sojourners and the Daughters of the American Revolution were among groups who visited cemeteries in College Station and Bryan.
The National Sojourners started placing flags on Veterans Day in the 1980s. Former Sojourners president David Fuller said this annual event came from the tradition of placing poppies on the graves of World War I veterans.
“It’s just a way that people of the nation can show their remembrance and appreciation of the sacrifices and services these men and women made as a part of keeping our country secure,” Fuller said.Along with participating organizations, anyone who had an interest in remembering the veterans or wanted to honor someone could help place the flags, according to Leonora Owre, regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution La Villita Chapter.
“We have volunteers from the Daughters of the American Revolution, volunteers from the Sojourners as well as volunteers from the Sons of the American Revolution, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and many veteran organizations who have their own way of remembering come and place flags with us,” Owre said.
Owre said participating in the Veterans Day flag event helps the Daughters of the American Revolution uphold its mission and create an example for the next generation.
“In the DAR, our missions are historic preservation, education and patriotism,” Owre said. “Honoring the veterans in this way really speaks to education and patriotism and, on some level, historic preservation. For us, this is very much what we are about and our mandate and allows us to set an example for the youth.”
For flag coordinator Ellen Horner, helping out with this event and placing the flags helps her remember and honor the loved ones who fought for her rights.
“Two of my husbands are buried at College Station cemetery and it helps me to remember them and remember that we have many people who helped defend us and gave their lives for us,” Horner said. “It shows our appreciation by placing the flags and honors our veterans.”
Fuller said he places the flags to help him remember and honor the men who fought alongside him in the Vietnam War.
“I’m a combat veteran, and I lost a lot of friends; a lot of them were Aggies,” Fuller said. “This is a way I can cherish their memory and pay a tribute to them. There is, among military people, without question a band of brothers, and placing the flags helps us to continue that bond.”