DECATUR -- Members of Howard-Parish VFW post 9834 and the Decatur Veterans Support Committee, representatives of the Fayetteville chapter of WoodmenLife, Decatur city officials and area residents gathered at the Decatur Cemetery Saturday to plant a series of white metal crosses on the gravesites of all the military veterans buried in the cemetery.
The crosses, each complete with an American flag provided by the Fayetteville chapter of WoodmenLife, were erected on approximately 110 gravesites, marking the beginning of the Memorial Day observance on May 27.
The crosses will be displayed at the cemetery during the Memorial Day, Independence Day and Veterans Day observances.
During its January 2019 meeting at Decatur City Hall, the Veterans Committee devised a plan to honor the 100-plus military veterans buried at Decatur Cemetery by placing a white cross, complete with its own American flag holder, on each gravesite.
Work on the crosses began March 15 when city workers Ricky Burke, Joey Gunther and Adam Cramer began welding three pieces of angle iron piping together to form the crosses. Assembly of the 137 crosses took two weeks to complete.
Once the metalwork was complete, Burke, Cramer and Gunther took the next 10 days giving the crosses a glossy white coat of paint. Along with the crosses, the trio built racks for storage when not in use.
Material for the crosses was donated by Jimmie Roberts, a longtime resident of Decatur now living in Gentry.
WoodmenLife, a nationwide not-for-profit fraternal benefit society founded in 1890, sponsored Saturday's event with the donation of American flags which were affixed to the holders in the back of each cross. WoodmenLife also hosted a lunch on Saturday for those putting up the crosses and flags in the cemetery.
The Decatur veterans committee will host a pancake breakfast June 8 in the community room at Decatur City Hall from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Cost for the breakfast is $6 for adults, $3 for children. Kids three and under eat free. Mike Cox, a member of the committee and Decatur Cemetery caretaker, will cook up the breakfast delights. All proceeds go to the Veterans Committee for future projects.
General News on 05/22/2019