CLEVELAND, Ohio — Volunteers began placing U.S. flags near the grave markers of more than 9,000 veterans Thursday on a beautiful spring day. Eventually, flags will cover the 66 sections over 285 acres at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland to honor the service of veterans on Memorial Day.
Wells Fargo Bank in Cleveland brought 30 volunteers to help with flag placements, equipped with cemetery section maps, veteran names, an armful of U.S. flags and a pencil to record their placements. Even with maps and information it was a challenge to find some of the grave markers.
“Lake View has a unique Memorial Day connection,” said Kathy Goss, President and CEO of Lake View Cemetery for almost 14 years. “The cemetery, established in 1869, had a veteran of the Civil War as our first internment in early 1870, Captain Germain DeForest.”
Goss said President James A. Garfield, who is entombed at Lake View, gave an address on May 30, 1868, honoring the fallen during the Civil War on the first Decoration Day where flowers were strewn over gravesites (now known as Memorial Day).
There is still time to register as a volunteer to help install the flags for the veterans.
Volunteer shifts are available Friday, May 26 and Saturday, May 27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., beginning on the hour. Contact Greta Rothman at [email protected] to sign up or to learn more.
A Memorial Day commemoration is scheduled for Monday, May 29 at 10:30 a.m. Tim Garfield, the great, great grandson of Garfield, will be the Master of Ceremonies honoring the veterans.
