SANFORD — Chris Cosgrove and his son Sean, 12, of Saco looked around St. Ignatius Cemetery on Saturday morning at hundreds of American flags flapping in the breeze.

They and other volunteers had placed the flags at the graves of the cemetery’s military veterans at the start of Memorial Day weekend. The flags will fly for a week before they are removed.

“It’s payback and veterans are helping out,” said Cosgrove, an Army veteran.

Similar scenes were being played out Saturday at cemeteries across Maine, which kicked off a three-day weekend of parades, ceremonies and other events to remember those who died while serving in the U.S. military.

It took the Cosgroves and some 60 other volunteers about 45 minutes to distribute the flags among the estimated 1,500 U.S. military veterans who have been laid to rest at St. Ignatius Cemetery. The cemetery, which was created to serve several Sanford Franco-American parishes, is filled with gravestones inscribed with French-Canadian names, such as Levasseur, Levallee and L’Heureux.

The annual decorating of the graves at St. Ignatius is organized by the Sanford Springvale Veterans Committee, which represents all the veterans groups in town, said Joe Armstrong, president of Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 1044.

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Armstrong said the volunteers show up every year to help out at St. Ignatius. The Patriot Riders of America Maine Chapter One, Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1044, several Boy Scouts troops and the ALERT Cadet program sent contingents of helpers.

“We have such a great group,” said Armstrong.

Shannon L’Heureux of Sanford brought along her three sons, Noah, 16, Wyatt, 12, and Clayton, 4. L’Heureux’s Sanford roots go back for generations, she said, and she recognized many of the names on the gravestones. Noah and Wyatt said they were happy to get up early on a holiday weekend to help out.

“I think it is great. The whole community gets together and gets ready for Memorial Day,” said Noah.

Kevin Edwards and his son Ian, 8, of Lebanon were with the ALERT Cadet program, a father-and-son Christian group. Edwards said it is important to honor veterans.

“To give honor where honor is due and train our children to honor veterans, too,” said Edwards.

Dennis Morin of Lebanon and Janet Legere of Farmington, New Hampshire, joined the Patriot Riders at the cemetery.

“Veterans comes first,” said Morin.

 


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