Symbols of Honor, Symbols of Sacrifice

The sight can be overwhelming. The emotional pull can be haunting.

In some of our nation's 146 National Cemeteries, the image of endless, countless rows of perfectly similar, gleaming white headtones representative of America's veterans is stark.

So much has been sacrificed so that every American can continue to enjoy what Thomas Jefferson once coined as our "unalienable," natural birthrights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

And as necessary and inevitable as many of our nation's wars and battles and tribulations have been, it is to no degree comforting to witness and assimilate such necessary, permanent reminders of those men and woman who so gallantly have offered their lives and their freedoms so that the living among us today can enjoy ours.

Such is the message we will witness once more this coming Memorial Day when volunteers steered by the vision of the family of the late US Army Sgt. Jared Monti plant at each grave in the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne a small United States of America flag.

Bourne's military graves, like many others across the United States, utilize granite or bronze plaques atop each veteran's grave, rather than the traditional, above-ground white cross or headstones which seem to line up for sombre miles from Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, California.

A native of Raynham, Sgt. Jared Christopher Monti - who was fatally wounded in a firefight in Gowardesh, Afghanistan on June 21, 2006 and succumbed to those wounds on June 22, 2006 - was posthumously awarded by President Barack Obama the Congressional Medal of Honor at the White House on Sept. 17, 2009. His ultimate sacrifice in Operation Enduring Freedom may be just one example of battlefield gallantry and heroism but just because it is one of many such examples it is no less powerful, no less meaningful.

"Duty. Honor. Country. Service. Sacrifice. Heroism. These are words of weight. But as people -- as a people and as a culture, we often invoke them lightly. We toss them around freely. But do we really grasp the meaning of these values? Do we truly understand the nature of these virtues? To serve, and to sacrifice. Jared Monti knew. The Monti family knows. And they know that the actions we honor today were not a passing moment of courage. They were the culmination of a life of character and commitment," said President Barack Obama on Sept. 17, 2009 when he awarded Monti the nationa's highest military award, the Congressional Medal of Honor.

For nearly five years, Monti's family fought through bureaucratic red tape in order to be allowed to plant the small US flags on each grave of each veteran at Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne. Last year was the first year the idea came to fruition. Next Saturday, May 26, 2012 at 10:00 am, the idea will become more than an idea. It will become a Memorial Day tradition.

But only with your help.

Over 55,000 flags will be staked on Saturday at each grave, just in time for Memorial Day. They will then be removed on June 3 at 10:00 am.

But volunteers are desperately needed to turn this one-time ceremony into a time-honored, annual event. If you are able to volunteer to help plant the flags, all you need to do is show up next Saturday, May 26, 2012 at the Cape Cod National Cemetery.

"Please help if you can," said  Michael Mahoney, Commander of the Baker-Xiarhos AMVETS Post 333 in Yarmouth. "Place flags this coming Memorial Day (Weekend) for a tradition created by the family of Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti, a Massachusetts Medal of Honor recipient killed in action in Afghanistan in 2006. This new flag placing is becoming a tradition."

To get to the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne, take Route 28, McArthur Blvd, from the rotary at the Bourne Bridge south to the Otis rotary heading to Falmouth. At the Otis rotary, proceed around to the entrance to Otis Air Force Base. Take right into the National Cemetery 100 yards from Otis rotary. The cemetery is located before the Otis military entrance gate.

"You can make a difference to keep a tradition now started, going," Mahoney said.