SAUGUS — The town’s chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is seeking donations for its second annual Veteran’s Day Field of Flags, which will be planted outside Town Hall in the days before the holiday.
The Parson Roby chapter of the DAR sells flags for $5, and each flag is meant to commemorate a veteran — living or dead. Those who sponsor a flag can add the name, rank, branch of service, years of service, and the war in which the veteran served to a label that will then be affixed to the flag, according to Vice Regent Gail Cassarino.
Cassarino said the idea for the Field of Flags came from a similar initiative undertaken in Boston, where MA Military Heroes organization plants a garden of flags in front of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Boston Common ahead of Memorial Day.
“It just looked so nice. So we went to [Town Manager Scott] Crabtree and asked him if we could do that on the lawn of town hall, we did it last year and I think we had about 120 flags, and it looks so nice,” she said in a telephone interview Friday.
Flags can be purchased to honor a family member, friend, employee, or neighbor who served in the military, and those who purchase flags can remove them from the display after noon on Nov. 11 to take home or place on a grave.
Cassarino said it was important for the DAR to find a way to properly commemorate the sacrifices made by veterans and their families.
“Remembering all the veterans, not just the veterans, but their families that really sacrifice, since the American Revolution our forefathers fought to keep, you know, our independence here and they sacrificed a lot and men and women are still willing to go sacrifice,” she said. “It means a lot to me … I’ve had a patriot in every single war since the American Revolution.”
“Remembering the veterans and honoring them in this way is good,” she continued.
Cassarino said thus far, roughly 70 flags have been purchased for this year’s display, after the DAR was able to get more than 100 last year. She said she was hopeful they would be able to meet or exceed that number as Veteran’s Day drew closer.
“We’ll get to it, some people just wait to the last minute, but it was a really nice display and so many people stopped by while we were doing it and after when it was up and thanked us,” she said. “I thought it was really nice.”
Those who have donated in the past and those who stopped by the display last year praised the effort undertaken by DAR, Cassarino said.
“It’s been really, really wonderful they were just so happy that we were doing this,” she said.
DAR also hosts an annual Wreaths Across America event, where wreaths are placed at the graves of veterans in the town’s Riverside Cemetery. That event will be held on Dec. 17, and the cost to sponsor a wreath is $15. Those interested in sponsoring a wreath can do so on the Parson Roby page on the Wreaths Across America website.
Cassarino said this year’s Wreaths Across America ceremony will feature a singer and taps will be played.
“It’s going to be really, really nice,” she said.
