To the editor:
Did you know if you had a beloved veteran buried at Calvary Cemetery on this Nov. 11, that their U.S. flag was not there?
If you were at the Gloucester Veteran Days ceremonies, there were flags aplenty. But if your veteran was at Calvary Cemetery, his or her hard-earned American flag was not with them at their graveside.
My mom went to visit my dad on Wednesday, Nov. 11, and she and my aunt commented that it was strange that there were no flags on any of the graves. My mom mentioned this to me and I said maybe it is a ceremonial thing and the flags would be put back later that day.
I took a ride to Calvary Cemetery on Thursday, Nov. 12, and sure enough, there were no flags at any graveside, including my father's. I called our Veterans Office in Gloucester and said my father's flags (he had two new flags that had been replaced about three weeks earlier, thanks to a family member) were gone and so were all of the other flags. The explanation I received was yes, that is a fact; their office had received so many complaints about the "tattered" flags, that they had volunteers remove all the flags during the prior week at Calvary and Beechbrook cemeteries.
I explained that my father's flags had been brand new, but apparently that didn't matter; the volunteers had been told to remove all of the flags, not just the tattered flags. I was also explicitly told that, legally, the flags need to be back up by Memorial Day — not quite what I expected to hear.
If the flags were tattered, why weren't they replaced, instead of removed? Last year, on Veterans Day, flags were in place at the gravesides.
I also copied the mayor on this letter, as the Veterans Office works for the city and I find this an outrage on behalf of my father and all other veterans at Calvary Cemetery and all cemeteries. Who gave the Veterans Office the right to pull all flags and not replace them at the same time, right before Veterans Day? I hope total corrective action is taken immediately, and there is no wait until Memorial Day, on behalf of all the veterans buried in our cemeteries.
I recognize that many fine events occurred that day and do not mean to belittle any of those, as they are important too, but can anyone tell me how it is possible that on Veterans Day, the day meant to commemorate all veterans, that there were no U.S. flags at their gravesides?
This is how the city of Gloucester actually honored its veterans, by removing their flags?
Roberta Sutherland
Madison Square, Gloucester
