Honoring Gunnison Valley Veterans
If you have driven by the Gunnison Cemetery over Memorial Day weekend or the 4th of July in the last fifteen years, you have probably caught a glimpse of a tribute to veterans who have connections with Gunnison and the surrounding area. “This project is a labor of love and respect,” says Kathy MacAllister, who started it in 2011. “We owe so much gratitude to those who have served, and it is a deep honor for me to have this project.”
Every year, volunteers from the Gunnison Valley come together to erect flags at the Gunnison Cemetery as a tribute to hundreds of veterans who served in the United States Armed Forces. About 40 volunteers set the flags up, typically the Thursday or Friday before the holiday. The flags fly through the weekend and then volunteers return on Tuesday to take them down and carefully store them away in the chapel on the cemetery grounds until the next opportunity to honor local veterans.
Support for Gunnison Soldiers
Inspired by a flag display she saw on a trip to Iowa over Memorial Day weekend in 2010, Kathy returned to Gunnison with the goal of doing something similar here. At the time, her son James was deployed in Iraq with the U.S. Army. His childhood best friend, Alun Howells, had also deployed to Iraq where he was killed in action in Baghdad in 2007.
While James and Alun were deployed, Kathy was part of a support group for parents and families of deployed community members. This group of around ten families had a small fund they had pooled together to help pay for the cost of shipping over care packages monthly. That group donated the initial $250 in seed money to launch the Memorial Flags Project.
Partnership with CFGV
With a goal of raising an additional $6,250 in funding to purchase flags and other materials, Kathy reached out to Community Foundation of the Gunnison Valley (CFGV) for help with fundraising. Together, they established the Memorial Flags Fund as a component fund of CFGV. That made it possible for other community members to make tax-deductible donations to the Memorial Flags Fund.
“More than 15 years ago, Kathy recognized an opportunity to honor our community’s veterans each year in a very visible way,” shared Lauren Kugler, CFGV executive director. “CFGV’s role as community connector and philanthropic partner helped ensure there could be a simple process for connecting the project with community support.” This partnership has endured for 15 years, with many other businesses, organizations, and individuals also helping support the project.
With CFGV lined up as a partner, Kathy went on to meet with the Gunnison Cemetery Board, the local American Legion, local Boy Scouts, the high school shop class, and other potential partners. The Cemetery board and staff have been enthusiastic partners for the last 15 years, from storing the flags at the chapel to helping Kathy’s volunteers get them set up. The National Headquarters of the American Legion have given Kathy and her group of volunteers special permission to fly the flags without special lighting since it’s such a short length of time. And the local boy scouts and shop class helped assemble the poles and flags for display.
A Community Tribute
The first year, there were 100 flags. A few years later, they added another 50 flags, and the most recent 50 flags were put in place by Sam McPhail as his Eagle Scout project. They now display 200 flags. Each four-foot by six-foot flag is embroidered with the name of a veteran with ties to the Gunnison community. Some currently serve, some are veterans who served a long time ago, and others were killed in action fighting for our country. The flags are displayed on ten-foot poles set in holders that are embedded 12 inches deep in cement. Every year, a few of the holders have grown over with grass, so Kathy keeps a map and expects to have to reclaim some of them each spring.
Kathy has never allowed a veteran or their family to pay for the cost of a flag. Instead, local businesses and community members have generously supported this project financially. Over the years, Kathy estimates that between 600 and 700 people have donated to the project and over 500 have volunteered. As the holiday approaches, Kathy sends an email out to past volunteers, her book club, and others to spread the information about the upcoming plans for setting up flags. If you would like to volunteer to honor local veterans, please reach out to CFGV. We can connect you with Kathy and make sure you’re on the list for future volunteer opportunities.
Make a Gift to Support This Project
If you would like to make a gift to help with this community tribute, you can donate to CFGV’s Memorial Flag Fund to show your support of local veterans.
Simplified Summary
Every Memorial Day and 4th of July, local volunteers set up a large flag display to honor veterans. Kathy MacAllister started the project after seeing a display in an Iowa cemetery on Memorial Day weekend in 2010. Kathy’s son was in the Army at the time. She came home to Gunnison and got a group together to start the project.
Parents and families of people who were currently serving gave the first $250. Then Kathy reached out to Community Foundation of the Gunnison Valley (CFGV). CFGV helped Kathy establish the Memorial Flags Fund so other people in the community could donate. Kathy also talked to other partners like the Gunnison Cemetery, the local American legion, Boy Scouts, the high school shop class, and others. The project came together because many people gave money and volunteered their time. The first year, there were 100 flags. A few years later, they added 50 more. A local Eagle Scout added another 50 as part of his Eagle Scout project a few years ago. Over the years, between 500 and 700 people have donated and 500 have volunteered. If you’d like to volunteer, let us know and we can connect you with Kathy. You can also make a gift to support this project here.
