Volunteers needed to help place flags on veterans’ graves in Breckenridge Cemetery on May 23
Every year for more than 10 years, retired U.S. Navy veteran Jim Merson has gotten up early on the Saturday before Memorial Day to place flags on the graves of U.S. Military veterans buried in the Breckenridge Cemetery. For many of those years, Les and Sherry Strickland have shown up at the cemetery, along with other volunteers, to help Merson.
Les Strickland is a retired U.S. Marine and the Stephens County Veterans Service Officer, and for the second year, he’s working with Merson to organize the project.
They’ll be there at 8 a.m. Saturday, May 23, and are hoping some volunteers will come help.
There are about 900 veterans buried in the Breckenridge Cemetery, so the more people who help out, the easier and faster the project will be. Typically, about 20 volunteers gather in the cemetery to dress each grave, honoring those who served in the U.S. military, and it takes about 60 to 90 minutes, Merson said.
If you’d like to help, just show up at the Breckenridge Cemetery, 1301 E. Elliott St., at 8 a.m. Saturday, May 23. Merson will be on hand to show you how to identify the graves of veterans and how to place the flags.
We’ve had some rain lately, so maybe the ground will be soft. But, if it’s dry on Saturday, it may be a little difficult to post the flags in the ground. In that case, Merson has steel “hole punchers” fashioned from rebar that — with a little effort — can make a place for the wooden flag sticks to go. Experienced volunteers often bring their own cordless power tools to drill holes into the soil.
Then, at 5 p.m. on Monday, Strickland and Merson will be back at the cemetery to remove the flags to be used again next year, and they’ll appreciate any volunteer help then, as well.
Cutline, top photo: A family volunteered together last year, placing flags on the graves of U.S. Military Veterans who are buried in the Breckenridge Cemetery. This year, Jim Merson and Les Strickland will welcome anyone who wants to volunteer to help with the project on Saturday morning, May 23. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
