Volunteers Place More Than 200,000 American Flags At Ft. Snelling Cemetery
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Volunteers say planting more than 200,000 American flags on the graves at Fort Snelling provided them with a chance to give back and show thanks to men and women who served the United States.
Starting before sunrise early Sunday Morning and lasting throughout the day, thousands of volunteers took shifts planting flags to make the project happen.
"It's overwhelming. It's humbling and a total honor to be able to do this," said Joanne Malmstedt, who founded Flags for Fort Snelling six years ago.
Malmstedt said the idea was born after she attempted to volunteer herself and her family to plant flags over the Memorial Day weekend, only to learn no program existed. In the years to follow, more volunteers joined aboard.
"The first year, when we had 430 people show up to place flags, I thought that was amazing. It brought me to tears. I could not believe how many people were moved to come and help us," she said.
"Spend an hour or two out here and do this. You'll never regret doing it," said Jill Cooper, who has volunteered nearly every year the group has existed. "It made me realize that these are people, and they need to be respected and honored for what they did."
The flags will remain during a Memorial Day event Monday before volunteers take them down at the end of the week.
"I like the idea of being able to do something that just showed that sense of honor and commemoration," said volunteer Rich Buckley. "These stones are here every single day, 24/7, every single year, right? And we have one weekend to truly pay attention."