{"id":4799,"date":"2021-11-10T16:43:02","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T21:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=4799"},"modified":"2023-12-14T11:48:26","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T16:48:26","slug":"vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/","title":{"rendered":"Vet Honors Fallen Comrades with Cemetery Flags & Grave Markers"},"content":{"rendered":"

American Flags<\/a> and Military Grave Markers<\/a> are often placed alongside the graves of Veterans as a show of respect and honor, but when the families of Veterans pass on, many gravesites are left unmaintained and neglected. In an act of true patriotism, it\u2019s become one Vet\u2019s mission to change that \u2013 one flag and grave marker at a time.<\/p>\n

A Hero Among Heroes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Matt Kelly is a U.S. Coast Guard Veteran and he has always replaced flags on Veteran graves, whether it was with the American Legion, or on his own. Matt served from 1999 to 2004 as a Machinery Technician Petty Officer, spending time in Florida, the Great Lakes, Virginia, and New England. He is the third member of his family to serve \u2013 his grandfather was a World War II Army Veteran and one of his uncles is a Veteran of the Marines Corps. \u201cI\u2019m proud of them both,\u201d says Matt. \u201cBut our family vacations were always to the ocean when I was child, and I knew I only wanted to serve in the Coast Guard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hundreds of Veterans Honored<\/strong><\/figure>\n

During the 2020 pandemic, Matt began noticing cemeteries where flags had not been replaced, so he took it upon himself to help them out. \u201cI knew it was a time in the USA when I wanted to make sure the flags were looking good, so on Veterans Monuments and on flag poles, I just started replacing flags that were faded or torn,\u201d Matt explains. \u201cNo questions or complaints, I just kept proudly replacing them.\u201d<\/p>\n

While replacing flags in numerous cemeteries, Matt began to find grave markers that were old and broken. Some Veterans didn\u2019t even have military markers. From then on, Matt began repairing and replacing grave markers, as well as flags. Hundreds of them. And the staff at Gettysburg Flag Works took notice.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

\u201cWhether the grave needs a flag or a grave marker, Matt sees a Veteran\u2019s grave and he takes care of it,\u201d says Maria Coffey, Marketing & Website Manager for Gettysburg Flag Works. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter who they are, or where they served. To Matt, they\u2019re all Veterans and he enjoys spending time with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had many coffees with Veterans from all wars,\u201d Matt laughs.<\/p>\n

From the Adirondacks to Massachusetts<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since 2020, Matt has visited dozens, if not hundreds, of cemeteries. He\u2019s been to cemeteries throughout the Adirondacks where he lives, and south to Columbia County NY, as well as cemeteries in Massachusetts where his parents live. He\u2019s followed maps, been down dirt roads, and just had people tell him where to go. Sometimes he\u2019s simply out driving when he passes a small cemetery and decides to turn around.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

However, one place you won\u2019t find Matt is in the big national Veterans cemeteries. He prefers the forgotten cemeteries in the Adirondacks, where Civil War Vets are buried, and the graves of Vets in smalltown cemeteries – simply because he can make more of a difference there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my free time I just drive to a cemetery and begin the process,\u201d Matt says. \u201cIt\u2019s time consuming, but these neglected Veterans might not have family, so I think of them as my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks & Praise from the Community<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although Matt does not do this for recognition or praise, he has had family members thank him, as well as other people visiting the cemeteries. They see what he is doing and make a point to say thank you, to tell him how proud they are of what he is doing, to remind him he is \u201cone of kind\u201d \u2013 always with smiles, and often through tears. Sometimes a motorcycle rider will nod and wave, or a tractor trailer will blow its horn, and Matt thinks, \u201cYup, they\u2019re a Vet, they get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of Matt\u2019s most memorable interactions was in a tiny cemetery in 2020. He had been repairing a very old Civil War marker. It was badly broken and he wanted it to stay together until he got a new one, so he had drilled it and was just finished bolting it, when he heard a truck come to an abrupt stop at the cemetery gate. Matt was standing there, holding the repaired grave marker, when a man with long hair stormed up to the gate and yelled, \u201cSir! I was driving by and saw what you were doing, and as a 20-year Army Vet I wanted to say thank you, I’m proud of you.\u201d The stranger then went out the gate as fast as he came in, got in his truck, and was gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized he started crying and probably didn’t want me to see,\u201d says Matt. \u201cThe whole interaction took about one minute, but all I could think was \u2018wow, that was awesome\u2019. I won’t ever forget that Veteran, and that’s why I keep doing what I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Support for Matt\u2019s Mission<\/strong><\/figure>\n

If you\u2019d like to help Matt Kelly in his mission to replace cemetery flags and grave markers for our Veterans, please email maria@gettysburgflag.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

American Flags and Military Grave Markers are often placed alongside the graves of Veterans as a show of respect and honor, but when the families of Veterans pass on, many gravesites are left unmaintained and neglected. In an act of true patriotism, it\u2019s become one Vet\u2019s mission to change that \u2013 one flag and grave… continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":4801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-lessons"],"yoast_head":"\nVet Honors Fallen Comrades with Cemetery Flags & Grave Markers - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"U.S. Coast Guard Vet Matt Kelly has made it his mission to maintain the cemetery flags and grave markers of Veterans in NY & MA.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vet Honors Fallen Comrades with Cemetery Flags & Grave Markers - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"U.S. Coast Guard Vet Matt Kelly has made it his mission to maintain the cemetery flags and grave markers of Veterans in NY & MA.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-10T21:43:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-12-14T16:48:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Matt-Kelly-5_cropped.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"481\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"373\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lisa Frawley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lisa Frawley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/\",\"name\":\"Vet Honors Fallen Comrades with Cemetery Flags & Grave Markers - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Matt-Kelly-6_cropped.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-10T21:43:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-14T16:48:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/48545d11d5943faeb3c2ebdd531de589\"},\"description\":\"U.S. Coast Guard Vet Matt Kelly has made it his mission to maintain the cemetery flags and grave markers of Veterans in NY & MA.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Matt-Kelly-6_cropped.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Matt-Kelly-6_cropped.jpg\",\"width\":419,\"height\":486,\"caption\":\"Matt Kelly holds Military Grave Marker\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Vet Honors Fallen Comrades with Cemetery Flags & Grave Markers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/48545d11d5943faeb3c2ebdd531de589\",\"name\":\"Lisa Frawley\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/author\/l-frawley\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Vet Honors Fallen Comrades with Cemetery Flags & Grave Markers - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog","description":"U.S. Coast Guard Vet Matt Kelly has made it his mission to maintain the cemetery flags and grave markers of Veterans in NY & MA.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Vet Honors Fallen Comrades with Cemetery Flags & Grave Markers - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog","og_description":"U.S. Coast Guard Vet Matt Kelly has made it his mission to maintain the cemetery flags and grave markers of Veterans in NY & MA.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/","og_site_name":"Gettysburg Flag Works Blog","article_published_time":"2021-11-10T21:43:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-12-14T16:48:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":481,"height":373,"url":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Matt-Kelly-5_cropped.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lisa Frawley","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lisa Frawley","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/","name":"Vet Honors Fallen Comrades with Cemetery Flags & Grave Markers - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Matt-Kelly-6_cropped.jpg","datePublished":"2021-11-10T21:43:02+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-14T16:48:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/48545d11d5943faeb3c2ebdd531de589"},"description":"U.S. Coast Guard Vet Matt Kelly has made it his mission to maintain the cemetery flags and grave markers of Veterans in NY & MA.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Matt-Kelly-6_cropped.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Matt-Kelly-6_cropped.jpg","width":419,"height":486,"caption":"Matt Kelly holds Military Grave Marker"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/vet-replaces-cemetery-flags-grave-markers\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Vet Honors Fallen Comrades with Cemetery Flags & Grave Markers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/","name":"Gettysburg Flag Works Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/48545d11d5943faeb3c2ebdd531de589","name":"Lisa Frawley","url":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/author\/l-frawley\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4799"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4974,"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4799\/revisions\/4974"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}