'Flags For Forgotten Soldiers' To Honor Fallen Plainfield Veteran

PLAINFIELD, IL — The public is invited to remember fallen veterans and spread awareness about PTSD this Sunday at Plainfield Village Hall, 24401 W. Lockport St. In honor of her brother, U.S. Marine Cpl. Brandon Meyers, and the 22 veterans who take their own lives each day, Tiffany Migon will be placing flags outside village hall at 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 12.

Migon and other participants will place a total of 660 flags in the ground, one for each servicemen and woman who die by suicide each month across the country.

"The flag memorial helps put in perspective how many we are actually losing," Migon told Patch.

"Unfortunately, my brother Brandon Meyers has become one of the faceless many that are part of a staggering statistic, a number we’re familiar with but can’t understand," Migon said on the Facebook event page set up for Flags For Forgotten Soldiers. "(Twenty two) a day, 660 a month, 7,920 a year—what do these numbers really look like? What can we do to help support our vets? We can start by educating people so more become involved in the fight to provide better health services. Veteran suicide is a growing epidemic and we need better care for our veterans suffering from PTSD."

Cpl. Brandon D. "Bubba" Meyers died on June 28, 2013. In his honor, his family has established the Bubba's Dogs For Warriors nonprofit to raise money to provide veterans with PTSD with service dogs.

Photo via Tiffany Migon/used by Patch with permission