Before families arrive to honor loved ones on Memorial Day weekend, veterans at Pleasant View Cemetery quietly begin their own act of remembrance.
Walking row by row through the cemetery, volunteers carefully place flags at nearly 120 veterans’ gravestones, making sure those who served are recognized and remembered.
Brianna Juneau reports - watch the video here:
For 80-year-old Vietnam veteran Erich Maki, the tradition is one he proudly carries on each year.
“Being it was handed down to me from World War Two vets, it’s something I take great pleasure in doing every year,” Maki said.
Maki said the tradition began decades ago with veterans before him, many of whom are now buried in the same cemetery they once helped decorate.
“We had about 70 (gravestones) when I started,” Maki said.
Today, the number of veterans recognized has grown to around 120, representing generations of military service. Maki explained the cemetery includes veterans from conflicts spanning centuries, including World War I and even three Civil War veterans.
For Maki, placing the flags is about ensuring veterans receive recognition, even decades after their service.
“All these veterans in here deserve something at least once a year to get some kind of recognition,” he added.
The work happens regardless of weather.
Over the years, Maki and his friend Billy have also worked to identify veterans whose graves may not have military markers, relying on local families and longtime residents to help preserve their stories.
“I posted on all the ones around here that don’t have military markers, but we knew they were in the military by talking to the locals here,” Maki said. “Billy and I have probably posted for, I don’t know, 20, 25 of those medallions here.”
Still, Maki worries about the future of the project.
After decades of placing flags, he said finding volunteers to continue the tradition has become increasingly difficult.
“Eventually we’ve got to hand it over to somebody,” Maki said. “It doesn’t have to be a veteran to post them.”
He said community support has long helped keep the tradition alive.
“I think if it wasn’t for the locals that really appreciate their grandfathers, fathers or whatever, it probably wouldn’t got done at all,” he said.
For Maki and Billy, the yearly ritual remains a source of pride and remembrance — one small but meaningful way to honor those who served.
“Yeah, it’s a proud thing to do,” Maki said. “And I’m really, really, really very honored to do it.”
