Volunteers place flags at Woodlawn Cemetery

While many people will spend Memorial Day weekend traveling or having fun in the sun, some Bronx residents have chosen to dedicate their time to remembering Americans who served in uniform. Volunteers

News 12 Staff

May 29, 2016, 5:05 AM

Updated 2,889 days ago

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Volunteers place flags at Woodlawn Cemetery
While many people will spend Memorial Day weekend traveling or having fun in the sun, some Bronx residents have chosen to dedicate their time to remembering Americans who served in uniform.
Volunteers kicked off the weekend by placing flags in front of the burial sites of veterans resting at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Lynn Radke has been a volunteer at the site for 11 years. She says one of the challenges of flagging is identifying the veterans in a private cemetery. Thanks to a new database, the number of flags has grown significantly from the original 200.
"I started writing down and keeping a list, and now it's grown to about 6,500 names on that list," Radke said.
These volunteers are happy to keep boosting those figures until every veteran is honored. 
Ten active U.S. Navy service members helped to place a wreath at the gravesite of Adm. David Glasglow Farragut, which became a national landmark in 2012. 
The crew members, who sail aboard the U.S.S. Farragut, are currently in town for Fleet Week and say they are honored to be a part of the celebrations. 
"It is truly an honor to pay respect to Admiral Farragut, our namesake, as well as the thousands of other veterans whose love of this country inspired their military service and for some, the ultimate sacrifice," said the commanding officer of the U.S.S. Farragut, Megan Thomas. 


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