Flags For Fallen Vets shares an urgent call for volunteers as they strive to place flags on gravesites at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery for Memorial Day.
SAN ANTONIO — A tradition to honor service and sacrifice could be in limbo in San Antonio. The non-profit Flags For Fallen Vets is putting out an urgent call to honor and support our nation’s heroes.
This weekend, ahead of Memorial Day, Flags For Fallen Vets will place more than 135,000 flags at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.
However, President and Founder Bob Fussner said they barely had enough funds to get it done this year. He also said another issue is the need volunteers.
“We hear the saying ‘freedom is not free.’ That doesn’t mean a lot to a lot of people, until you go to a national cemetery,” Fussner said. “I get it, everyone wants to go out and fish and have a picnic. But we have to remember why we are able to do that. We are able to do that because of the people out there at that cemetery.”
Fussner’s non-profit leads the charge of placing an American flag on every veteran’s gravesite. For Texas, they do this at national cemeteries in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.
“After somebody places a flag, we ask them to say their veteran’s name and thank them,” he said. “You think about it, that could be the first time that veteran’s name has been said, since they were laid to rest there.”
It was a close call to get all the flags at Fort Sam this year. Fussner said they almost didn’t meet their $18,000 budget and had to pull funds from another area. As for looking ahead, Fussner is really concerned about the future.
“We need help or we are going to be in trouble for next year, real trouble,” Fussner said.
He said in San Antonio, they have two main sponsors. But that’s not enough. They also rely on private donations and added this year individual donations were down 38%.
“Cost of everything has gone up just like it has gone up for us,” he said.
This year, they have enough volunteers to place the flags. But on May 31, they don’t have enough volunteers to remove them.
“We don’t ask for much,” he said. “We are just asking for a couple of hours.”
Fussner said to get the flags removed, they need about 900 volunteers. If you would like to give back your time, click here.