To Honor Fallen Heroes, 6,700 Flags
Fly At St. Michael’s
- PostEagle
- October 11, 2013
- Uncategorized
- 0 Comments
NEW JERSEY – Over 6,700 flags were flown at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Lyndhurst on Friday, September 20. The event was part of “Field of Flags,” a traveling memorial to the fallen heroes of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Each flag represents an American casualty.
The Field of Flags is a silent, patriotic, and poignant reminder of the cost of war. Each flag signifies not simply one casualty, but all the family members and friends who have been touched by that life now gone. They represent our respect for those who have served and are currently serving in the military and our hope for peace in the future, for a time when no one is called upon by our country to give the greatest sacrifice.
Mary Corrao, organizer of the event, and a St. Michael’s parishioner, who has a son and three grandsons presently serving in the military said, “My son told me that before each battle, Marines kneel and pray for peace.” Corrao further stated that Field of Flags is “to remember and revere our loved ones who understood and accepted the price that war and peace exact.”
Field of Flags began in 2005 at the Somers Congregational Church in Somers Connecticut. Members of the church’s Memorial Garden Committee placed 2,231 flags, one for each American casualty at the time, to show that those who have died and their families and friends were remembered in our prayers.
Fr. Stanley Kostrzomb, pastor of St. Michael’s, stated, “As we get wrapped up in our daily schedules, we often forget those who fought and who are fighting for us so that we can continue to live freely. Hopefully the Field of Flags will help us to appreciate all those who sacrificed their lives. Let us keep them, and their loved ones, in our daily prayers.”
On Sunday, September 22, at 2:00 pm an interfaith service was held at St. Michael the Archangel Church as part of the Field of Flags event.
St. Michael the Archangel Church is located at the corner of Ridge Road and Page Avenue in Lyndhurst. The parish web site is www.st-michael.org.
