WeHa Veterans Seek Help Planting Veterans Day Flags

Town of West Hartford

WEST HARTFORD, CT — Veterans Day is next week and in preparation for the holiday, local veterans groups need help from the community.

That's why they are calling for volunteers to help place flags on veteran graves at Fairview Cemetery, 200 Whitman Ave., on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 8:30 a.m.

Each year, West Hartford honors veterans with a flag-planting event on the Saturday before Veterans Day.

There are more than 1,200 military graves in Fairview Cemetery, and volunteers from the community are asked to assist the American Legion Hayes-Velhage Post 96 in placing flags to honor their service to the United States.

Volunteers are asked to assemble at the Cemetery Management area at 8:30 a.m. for instructions on the proper placement of flags and an assignment of a cemetery area.

Everyone is welcome and there is no need to RSVP.

To assist in the placement of a flag, bring a screwdriver to prepare a hole in the ground.

SITE UNMARKED AS A VETERAN
Anyone who has a relative or friend buried at Fairview Cemetery whose grave is not properly identified as that of a veteran should contact the cemetery office at 860-561-8136 so a flag can be placed there.

COLLECTION OF RETIRED FLAGS

Hayes-Velhage Post 96 will also be collecting any American flag that needs to be retired.

An American flag, when no longer in use, is retired at a ceremony where the flag is burned.

Flags will be collected from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4.

TRADITION

Veterans, residents and West Hartford Scout Troops have gathered at Fairview Cemetery to carry on this tradition initiated by the late Jean Paul Berard over 40 years ago.

The tradition of placing flags at graves for Memorial Day and Veterans Day is recognized throughout our country.

At Arlington Cemetery in Virginia, more than 280,000 are placed at headstones to honor every individual buried there.

VETERANS DAY CEREMONY
The American Legion Post 96 and the Town of West Hartford will host a brief Veterans Day ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m. at the Connecticut Veterans Memorial located on the corner of North Main Street and Farmington Avenue, West Hartford Center.

If the weather is inclement, the ceremony will be relocated indoors in the community room at First Church Congregational, 12 S. Main St.