Floral Haven Cemetery, Broken Arrow, OK
It would have been easy to visit the cemetery located 1/2 mile from our house, but it seemed most appropriate to visit Floral Haven on Memorial Day. Those who have passed by the cemetery on this particular holiday have seen the most awe-inspiring sight. This was inscribed on a plaque from 2005:
"The tradition of the Avenue of Flags at Floral Haven began in 1972, when the family of a veteran brought in his casket flag and asked that it be flown over the cemetery on Memorial Day weekend. This year, more than 2200 flags will fly in honor of veterans who have died."
There were many plaques throughout the cemetery, but those which stood in the veteran's area were inspirational:
"...with malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle; and for his widow and his orphan - to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." - Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, 1865
When we left Floral Haven, a friend (Thanks, Deb!) drove us several miles down the road to a very different type of cemetery. Here, we found people who had died over 100 years ago. Many of the tombstones were worn smooth. Some stood guard over infants who had died without even being named. It was obvious that someone still watches over the land, but by the lack of flowers, we feared that many of these people have been forgotten.
A:
There were a whole bunch of flags, like 2000 flags. They were all dedicated to someone. We visited our friend's friend and put an American flag on his grave. It felt kind of sad.
C:
We went to the cemetery, and we saw lots of graves. The graves had flowers on them. There were these flags which had war people's names on them. There were these flowers on the wall where the coffins were. It made me feel sad because those people died.
Thank you for watching over and sharing your experience at Floral Haven. That's where Dad is. I couldn't go this year, although I'd planned to with the family, because I had an assignment due that day. Stephanie told me later that it was probably best because there was a funeral going on at the time they were there in the veteran's section. And at the moment that she and the girls placed the flowers at Dad's site, TAPS began to play at the funeral across the way. I know I would have just lost it at that moment. One of these days, I'll have the strength to go there...
ReplyDeleteTeresa, I thought about your dad, but I didn't know where his grave was. I did talk about him with my children though.
ReplyDelete