Avenue of Flags needs funds
Peabody American Legion Post 95 presented evening visitors to Prairie Lawn Cemetery with a "shock and awe" display last Memorial Day. The Avenue of Flags had been illuminated to facilitate nighttime viewing. American flags waving gallantly in the Kansas breeze, each in honor of a war veteran buried at Prairie Lawn, attracted hordes of viewers. They clogged the road in front of the cemetery and the narrow drive leading to the grave sites at the top of the hill.
For many years, Legion members dutifully erected and removed the flags at dawn and dusk so that they could be enjoyed for the entire holiday weekend. But the job became a daunting task as more flags were added to the display.
"The truth is, we are getting too old for that kind of activity," said Legion member Leroy Wetta. "Our membership is aging and getting volunteers to put them up and take them down daily was asking a lot."
Last year, prior to Memorial Day, the Legion post decided to illuminate the flags so that they could be put on Friday evening and remain up through Monday evening.
The Legion had a fund for the Avenue of Flags, untapped for any other event or Legion expense, which had grown over the years to a little more than $7,000. The group decided to use the money to install the lights.
Not only would the project solve the problem of putting up the flags and taking them down repeatedly, but members had a vision of a powerful display to honor the soldiers buried at Prairie Lawn who had lost their lives defending this country's freedom.
With volunteers from the Legion doing the manual labor, the fund was sufficient to light the flags the Legion had. The cost of the electrical service and supplies depleted the money in the fund. But the sight of the illuminated flags and the response from the public was overwhelming.
"It really is an awesome sight," said Wetta. "Much more inspiring than we imagined."
However, in the past year, World War II veterans have been dying nationwide at the rate of 1,000 a day. The elevated number is reflected at Prairie Lawn Cemetery as well, said Wetta. "Suddenly we find ourselves with more flags that need to be installed and illuminated. And this trend is going to continue for the next several years. We started rebuilding the fund this year, but we haven't been able to keep up."
Additional electrical service and equipment will need to be installed if those veterans are to have their flags illuminated. The legion is hoping that the community and Memorial Day visitors will make donations to keep the flags flying at the cemetery for all the soldiers buried there.
Kim Conquest, Legion Auxiliary treasurer, summed it up with the assessment. "In the past we've had maybe two or three veterans a year buried at Prairie Lawn. So far in 2003, we have buried seven. Hopefully, people who visit this year will remember a brother, father, cousin, or PHS classmate with a donation to the flag fund so that every veteran's flag can be lighted."
Memorials and donations can be made to Avenue of Flags Fund, c/o John Topham, 306 N. Walnut, Peabody, or c/o Peabody State Bank, P.O. Box 131, Peabody KS 66866.
