In cities and towns across Wyoming, volunteers have placed thousands of American flags at the graves of military veterans who have served the United States in wartime and in peace.
In cemeteries from Gillette to Cheyenne to Casper — and all points around the Cowboy State — hundreds of volunteers spend hours planting flags.
In Thermopolis, flags were placed in the Monument Hill Cemetery and Riverside Cemetery on Friday. Organized by the local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 2281, people of all ages and backgrounds volunteered to take lists of known veterans and bunches of small flags.
For teenagers and kids placing flags, it was about connecting to history. For others, it was more personal on the national day of remembrance for all those who made the ultimate sacrifice for America’s freedom.
“I was in Vietnam,” veteran Rick Sazama said. “I was a grunt. A ground-and-pound man. We were getting shot at and blown up.”
Sazama had been drafted into the Army and saw action during the war. On this Memorial Day, memories are rekindled, and he especially remembers one such harrowing battle as his small company was bombarded in an ambush.
“It was one of those deals where I was on one side of the perimeter and stuff was going on, on the other side,” he said.“We started taking rounds over our back, but we're looking the other way.”
He survived this ambush and others without any severe injuries and survived to remember his fellow soldiers and their sacrifices.
“They are the reason we can be here and enjoy life,” he said. “Forgetting the past is probably the worst thing you could do. We need to remember those that went swimming with sharks in the Navy and those in the Army dodging explosions.”
Holly Ghaffari, from left, Kim Breslin and Mark Potter volunteered for VFW Post 2281 to place flags at the Riverside Cemetery in Thermopolis, Wyoming. They all expressed their gratitude for those who had served our Country as soldiers, especially in active duty. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
Navy Veteran Marshall Keller brought his daughters to Riverside Cemetery to help mark the graves of veterans with flags. He wants to instill in his teenage daughters a pride in what soldiers fight for. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
Sisters Shelley Deromedi and Marty Hartman have placed flags at the Riverside Cemetery in Thermopolis, Wyoming, since 1975. They said they were here to honor their family and others who served. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
People of all ages place flags at the Thermopolis cemetery for Memorial Day, including kids and teenagers who are learning Americas history. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
Vietnam veterans Gary Holbert and Rick Sazama were both vilified when they came back from the war in the early 1970s, so they kept quiet about their service. Today, they can openly talk about their service and are honored to be able to remember those who paid the ultimate price for America by placing flags on graves at the Riverside Cemetery in Thermopolis, Wyoming. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
VFW volunteer Rita Evans and VFW officer Gary Holbert review the lists of veterans buried at Riverside Cemetery in Thermopolis, Wyoming, to make sure they have not missed any veterans. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
Members of the VFW Post 2281 provided a list and bundles of flags to volunteers who then planted them at each headstone of a veteran at Riverside Cemetery in Thermopolis, Wyoming. Headstones that were found and not on the list were also given flags and added to the growing list. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
Cemeteries across Wyoming, including Riverside Cemetery in Thermopolis, have been decorated with flags to honor veterans this Memorial Day. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily)
The Flags Of Remembrance
Gary Holbert, the senior vice commander at the local VFW post, had just crossed the last name off his list of veterans and placed his final flag. He, too, was a Vietnam vet and served from 1966 to 1971 on a carrier with a fighter squadron.
“I’m here to put the flags out for our great veterans,” he said. “They deserve it. It's nice to recognize all the veterans.”
It was Air Force veteran Jacque Polson’s first time organizing the event to place the flags in the Thermopolis cemeteries as the activities director for Post 2281. As she handed out lists and flags, she would make notations and send her youngest son, Erik, running for more flags.
“We have found ones that are not on our list,” she said. “And we want to make sure that everyone is properly recognized for their service.”
Her husband, also an Air Force veteran, and their two young sons were helping her place the flags. The boys especially were enthusiastic and would run ahead to find the graves of veterans.
She paused at a grave of a U.S. Cavalry soldier, William H. Gibbs. He was born in 1839 and had served for Company D, 12th Illinois Cavalry during the Civil War. She pointed out the date, marveling at his service and wondering what Gibbs’life had been like.
His name was added to her list so that he would never be missed again.
It’s Personal
Navy Veteran Marshall Keller had also brought his daughters to the cemetery to help as he has in years past. Now teenagers, they were very interested in his own service and the history they were uncovering while planting the smallflags.
“It makes me think about our country and all the people who have fought for it,” said Keller’s daughter Margo. “It makes me think more about the individual people who were fighting even from the 1880s. It's just nice to honor them.”
Since 1975, sisters Shelly Deromedi of Thermopolis and Marty Hartman of Cheyenne have been placing flags at both Riverside Cemetery and Monument Hill. Both their dad and brother are veterans.
“We like to help with the flags,” Deromedi said. “We used to make it a family affair, but we're down to just us two now.”
As they contemplate the flags that are sprouting up all over the cemetery, the sisters smile and finish each other’s sentences as they talk about how special it is to honor veterans.
“When we read the names and put the flag in, I think they probably know that someone's remembering their service,” Hartman said. “I stopped at the cemetery in Casper, and everyone had a flag and it was just beautiful. Sad, but beautiful,that they were all just remembered, and their flags were blowing in the wind.”
Keller agreed, pausing to watch his daughters as they placed a flag on a grave.
“We do this because it's for those of us that have served in the military,” he said. “It's our way to keep the memories alive.”
Mark Potter, also a veteran who served during peacetime, had just found out about the placing of the flags an hour before and had hurried over with his wife to the cemetery to lend a hand.
“I'm just honored to have found out about it,” he said. “I'm glad to participate, and I look forward to doing it next year as well.”
A Gesture Of Gratitude
Echoed by all who were looking for the graves of former warriors was the same sentiment. These veterans deserved to be recognized.
For Vietnam veteran Sazama, it is especially poignant since for so many years, he was disparaged for serving in the war and for those long years, never talked about his service.
“As soon as I got out, I went back to college and just tended to not talk about it, because when other students realized I had been over there, they called me a baby killer,” he said. “I quit telling people that I was that I'd been to Vietnam. I still have a lot of anger from that kind of garbage.”
Sazama said he had tried to forget. However, today, he can remember why he went to war. It was to serve his country and to do what he felt was his duty, just like those that he had come to honor with flags this Memorial Day weekend.
Vietnam veteran Holbert believes that it also was his duty to serve and had signed up to the Navy before he was drafted into the Army.
“All the ones buried here, they did their job,” Holbert said. “We all signed a contract and none of us knew whether we were coming back or not.”
Riverside Cemetery in Thermopolis, Wyoming, was one of many cemeteries across Wyoming where volunteers placed flags to honor veterans on Memorial Day. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
William H. Gibbs was born in 1839 and served for the Company D, 12th Illinois Cavalry. His grave was marked with a flag for Memorial Day in honor of his service. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
Veteran and VFW Post 2281 officer Jacqueline Polson places a flag on the grave of her fellow solider. She brought her family to the Riverside Cemetery to decorate the graves of veterans and feels honored to be a part of the small event. This headstone was not on her original list and will be added so it will continue to get a flag each Memorial Day weekend. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
Like others across Wyoming and America, Margo Keller placed flags on the graves of veterans to honor them and their service this Memorial Day. She was volunteering for VFW Post 2281 at Riverside Cemetery in Thermopolis and loved connecting to the history of those who had served as soldiers. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
Margo Keller, the daughter of a Navy veteran, placed flags this Memorial Day on the graves of soldiers, including those that were not on her original list such as George Odde who served in the Navy during World War II. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
Allen E. Farikoff served in World War II and was honored this Memorial Day by VFW Post 2281 and local volunteers with a flag at the Riverside Cemetery in Thermopolis, Wyoming. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
Veteran Jacqueline Polson organized the placing of flags for VFW Post 2281 at Riverside Cemetery in Thermopolis, Wyoming. Her son Aksel helped her identify and place the flags. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
Veteran Jacqueline Polson walks along the headstones at the Riverside Cemetery in Thermopolis with her son, Erik Polson. They are looking for the graves of veterans to decorate with flags in honor of Memorial Day. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily)
Soldiers Etched In Stone
The younger generation who were placing the flags and not old enough even to vote, listened to these stories and soaked in the history of the moment. As Margo Keller pointed out the different names and years, the veterans who were also placing the flags were glad to see her and the other young people there.
“It's important for my daughters to be here,” Navy veteran Keller said. “They need to learn what sacrifices had been made for them. Our family honors the past and the people that have served.”
It was because he himself didn't see any combat that Potter especially was grateful to be at the cemetery placing flags. He wanted to honor those veterans who had given their lives in service and to give back to them with the small gesture of placing a flag on their grave.
“There is no greater honor than to give one's life for one's country and fellow man,” he said. “They need to be remembered during Memorial Day simply because they died. Whether in combat or not. It's important to remember them and honor them as a service person, because not a lot of people will go into combat for somebody else.”
Kim Breslin, a regular volunteer at VFW Post 2281 was emotional as she remembered her own family who had served in the military.
“I do it for my father and my brother,” she said, choking back tears. “Never forget who fought for us, who fought for our country.”
As the flags flutter in the wind, VFW Auxiliary Member Rita Evans smiled, gesturing to the red, white and blue ripples.
“They're so beautiful,” she said. “It just makes your heart feel good.”
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
