SUMMARY: Over 1,000 American flags were placed on veterans graves at Dover Burial Park by members of the American Legion Post 205 of Dover and Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of Pack 86.
Dover Burial Park is typically a serene sanctuary, especially in the early evening hours. However, Monday, May 9 as the sun was beginning to set in the west, members of the American Legion Post 205 in Dover and Boy Scout Troop and Pack 86 filled the cemetery to place flag on the veterans graves.
We had someone looking out for us when we were over there, said World War II veterans Bob Bergquist. Now were just doing the same.
Bergquist and fellow WWII veteran Jack Reese worked like a well-oiled machine. As Bergquist read off names, Reese placed flags in the metal military service holders. The duo and a few other veterans arrived prior to the scouts, not because they moved slower than the youngsters but as if the vets were taking their time to honor each serviceman who has gone before them.
Making sure that members of Post 205 had the names and locations of the gravestones was Debbie Cook, Tuscarawas County Veterans Service Office director. Ultimately she organizes volunteers to make sure every veterans grave is decorated with Old Glory. A total of 1,030 flags were placed on veterans graves in the north Dover cemetery by the end of the evening. However, Cooks job is not done. Working with service organizations, she makes sure all deceased veterans in the county have an American flag flying above their gravestone before Memorial Day. With 120 cemeteries in the county, over 12,000 flags will be placed.
Assisting the Dover Legionaries were members of Pack 86. Spearheading the project was Debbie Cooks spouse, Ed, an assistant Boy Scoutmaster and Cub Scout committee chairman. With a truck bed full of flags, military markers and miscellaneous items, the project moved swiftly. As scouts returned for more flags and broken markers, Ed, along with fellow scout leaders handed out flags and fixed markers. The process continued until every veterans final resting place had a flag flying above it. Ironically, the sun was setting in the west.
Understanding the importance of getting a flag on every veterans grave, Debbie Cook enjoys working with the different veterans groups throughout the county. They want to do this. They are honoring their fellow veterans, she remarked. It is one of the last things that they can do for veterans in our area.
