It is truly sad that this project is quite difficult to arrange.  Apparently cemeteries have become targets for thieves who steal the brass and bronze flag holders and markers and sell them as scrap metal.  Like last year, I tried to arrange to do this using my contact at the Convention and Visitors Bureau.  It took several weeks and a dozen or so calls to set it up in Buffalo.  Seattle was even more difficult.  Finally I contacted Jake Jacobson (PG-86) and asked for his help.  Jake had already offered to assist me with the reunion since he lived in the area.  So, I asked him to see if he could find a cemetery that would allow us to replace worn or dirty flags on the graves of any veterans.  Jake came through with flying colors.

     The one thing I must say is that I didn't expect a cemetery as big as Evergreen Washelli.  In Buffalo we replace every worn or dirty flag.  In Seattle we were assigned a small section of graves out of several thousand.  I had ordered a case of 144 new flags which we quickly used.  The staff at Evergreen Washelli also provided flags from two of their trailers full of flags.  These flags had been used before and were still in good shape so when we finished with ours we went ahead and placed an additional several hundred.  After several hours at the cemetery we headed back to the hotel for a much deserved cold drink and rest.

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Updated by Terry W. McManuels