– Photos by Melissa Miller
Members of the Forest Township 4-H Club alongside members of Warren Township worked together to place flags at Hopewell Cemetery to honor the veterans and learn more about history and the prospects that led to freedom for themselves.
The 4-H Club members were informed that slightly more than 100 veterans were buried in the Hopewell Cemetery, and despite not being able to read a few of the gravestones dating back to 1812, the members were able to place 93 flags in honor of the veterans prior to Memorial Day. Forest Township 4-H Club member Ezekiel Shanks commented about the project and the experience that the members had placing the flags.
“We went out recently and placed flags out in a cemetery for veterans,” Shanks said. “It was an interesting experience. It was very fun. We thought it was a good idea. It was suggested at one of the meetings, and we all kind of agreed that it was the right thing to do and it was a good volunteer idea, so us and a couple others went out and did it together.”
Forest Township 4-H member Jacob Carter echoed Shanks’ statements, expressing how the act of replacing old flags with new flags allowed for the members to learn more about history and learn together to continue the excellence of the clubs.
“We went out to Hopewell, and we went out there and we seen that there’s a whole bunch of old flags, so we would place some new flags to honor the passed veterans
and basically help out their families in case they don’t have flags,” Carter said. “We also had Warren Township come out and help us because they wanted to learn how to be able to do this stuff too so they can help us and we can help them.”
Carter stated that the remaining flags beyond the 93 were not placed due to the difficulty of reading the tombstones that had experienced weathering, but throughout his extensive knowledge of helping to clean and restore tombstones, he had not experienced the emotional impact that he felt during the placing of the flags.
“There’s some that were World War I and older, which were pretty old, and some Civil War too besides World War II,” Carter said. “I’ve gone out and cleaned cemeteries and cleaned stones and fixed stones and things like that, but just placing the flags and learning about the people who have sacrificed their lives for where we are today, for the freedom, it felt like I was actually showing my respect by placing the flags out.”
Shanks added that the impact of placing the flags and learning more about the veterans that gave their lives for the freedoms experienced by everyone in the country was an important aspect of the experience, and he encouraged every community member to learn more to continue honoring those that allowed for the freedoms that the community experiences today.
“It’s a powerful experience, and I feel like it’s something that everybody should do and see the different graves and everything because it really gives you a new understanding of what they went through and all they sacrificed for us,” Shanks said. “It’s something I think everybody should have an understanding of.”
Shanks concluded by stating that while today’s youth may not have experienced a war firsthand, they should remain thankful for those that fought for their rights well into the future alongside those who will continue to dedicate their lives to protecting the country in the instance that another conflict would occur.
“Our generation, fingers crossed, we haven’t seen any wars so far, so it’s important to see the loss and what it took to get us here to the freedoms that we have today,” Shanks said. “Our abilities and everything we have now is because of them, and it’s important to remember that, honor that and understand that if the need arises again, there will be people to stand up and fight for us.”
The Forest Township 4-H Club performed the service in partnership with the Warren Township 4-H Club.
