Memorial Day

Memorial Day is officially May 31, but it is always celebrated the last full weekend of May...which happens to be this weekend. Memorial Day is the day we remember those who have been killed in one of the many wars that America has fought in. It is a day we visit the graves of our brave soldiers, clean the grounds and plant a flag.

I live walking distance from a National Cemetery in Marietta, GA. This week little flags are flying at each and every grave. The cemetery is on a hill with many trees providing shade. It is a peaceful setting for those who served their country at great risk and in times of great danger. At times I have attended services there on Memorial Day. But mostly I remember my uncle, Ronald Havers. Uncle Ronald was awarded the purple heart for injuries received in the battle of Bouganville, Solomon Islands; recovered and sent back to his unit. The unit was sent on to the Phillippines where he was killed near Manila in 1945.

Ronald Havers, US Army, killed in battle 1945

I can't plant a flag on my uncle's grave because he is buried in the Phillippines http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/ml.php. So this year I made a flag quilt in his memory. There are enough flags flying in the border fabric to be placed by his grave on memorial day for centuries to come. 

Flags A-Flying