CHINA GROVE — On a chilly, sunny Saturday morning, Cub Scout Pack 374 from First United Methodist Church and veterans from Kannapolis VFW Post 8989 gathered at West Lawn Memorial Cemetery to place 1,000 small U.S. flags on graves of military veterans, law enforcement officers and firefighters.
Maple trees in the cemetery were showing bright fall colors, providing a pretty setting for the work at hand.
Veteran Bob Price said his VFW post places the flags on graves on Memorial Day and Veterans Day. They remove the old flags and replace them with new ones.
Scout leader Kelly Hunsucker had 12 of his 7- to 11-year-old scouts and their parents at the cemetery ready to work. It was an opportunity for the Tigers, Wolves, Bears and Webelos to work together on a project.
As the scouts searched the cemetery for graves to place the flags, they were able to see the involvement of the many fallen veterans. The grave of Fred Harding Watts drew their interest since he served in three wars for his country: World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
Another interesting marker inscription showed that the veteran served in the “Army Air Force.” The Air Force was part of the U.S. Army before it became a separate branch of the military.