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Memorial Day tradition returns to Greenfield Cemetery

More than 850 American flags are displayed in a Memorial Day tradition at Park Cemetery in Greenfield.

GREENFIELD, Ind. — "To me this is a great thing, and I don't want to see it die in my lifetime," said Butch Bodell, a member of the Greenfield Honor Guard and Vietnam veteran.

He helps maintain a display of more than 850 American flags at the Park Cemetery in Greenfield. 

"When people see the flags they go, ‘oh they’re really pretty and look nice’ but you’ve got to remember that behind every one of those flags is a dead veteran," said Greenfield Honor Guard's Bob Workman. "It means a lot to be a part of that.” 

It's been a Memorial Day tradition here for over 40 years. The flags are put up a week before Memorial Day and remain on display through the first week in June.

"It has to be a family member or a friend," Workman said. "If they want to honor that person they can do the order form, pay the $50. We put the flag in, assemble it, put it together, put it in and maintain it for life.” 

"I'm not the one who likes to sit and be a bystander. Sometimes I'm not too outgoing but I still want to take charge and do what has to be done," said Bodell.

It's a good reminder of what this long weekend is all about.

"Memorial Day is a day to remember the past and I think honor the present, the people that are still out there fighting," Workman said. "Remembering people that fought for our freedom and it always touches me every year, because I remember the people I served with that didn't come back from Vietnam and I think it's a day for that also."

"I love my country and I'd do the same thing over and over and over again," Bodell said. 

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