Veterans groups raise flags for Memorial Day

DECATUR — With Memorial Day a little over a week away, the Decatur Veterans Committee and the Howard-Parrish Chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9834 worked at the Decatur Cemetery and along Main Street and Roller Avenue in Decatur on May 16 to make things ready for the observance.

The two groups worked sideby-side to erect white crosses, each bearing an American flag, on the grave of every military veteran buried in the Decatur Cemetery, in remembrance of the many sacrifices they made for our nation’s freedom.

A total of 137 veterans from both sides of the Civil War, both world wars, and wars in Korea, Vietnam, and the Middle East are buried in the Decatur Cemetery.

Robert C. Northcutt, May 8,

1864-April 28, 1940, holds the distinction of being the only veteran of the Spanish American War buried in the Decatur Cemetery; a war that lasted less than four months (April 21 to August 13, 1898).

Other veterans of distinction in the Decatur graveyard include one soldier who fought in three wars, World War II, Korea and Vietnam, and two that fought in two conflicts.

Just before Memorial Day 2019, Ricky Burke, Joey Gunther and Adam Kramer built 150 metal crosses (and four cross carriers) for the Decatur Veterans Committee to place near the headstone of each veteran on Memorial and Veterans Day. About 15 members of both VFW Post 9834 and the Veterans Committee volunteered about three hours to get the markers in place.

During the morning event, lifelong Decatur resident Jean Johnson and her grandson Rowdy Lemley experimented with cleaning some of the older headstones. They took a small section around the names on at three different headstones. Their efforts paid off in a big way. Some of the headstones were so encrusted with dirt and grime that the names were obscured and, in some cases, illegible. Using a non-toxic spray cleaner and scrub brush, Johnson and Lemley were able to bring the lettering to the surface, allowing the soldiers to be clearly identified.

While work was in progress at the cemetery, three members of VFW post hung American flags in holders attached to light poles on either side of Main Street and Roller Avenue.

If anyone has a veteran buried in the Decatur Cemetery that does not have a cross and flag on the grave, please email Jeanelle Simpson at jcox. cod@gmail.com to let her know. She would like to have the military unit and wars they served in so she can note that in the city records.

Memorial Day will be celebrated on Monday, May 25, nationwide.

Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS Magnolia McClain puts an American flag in a slot on the back of a white cross during the Decatur Veterans Committee’s Memorial Day flag-planting workday May 16 at the Decatur Cemetery.

Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS Jeanelle Simpson plants a white cross on the headstone of local Air Force veteran D.K Bredehoeft May 16 as she joined members of the Decatur Veterans Committee and the Howard-Parrish VFW Post 9834 in raising flags at the Decatur Cemetery. The crosses and flags were erected to commemorate Memorial Day on May 25.