Thousands of flags placed on veterans’ graves at Camp Hill cemetery ahead of Memorial Day

CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM)– A cemetery in Camp Hill is called Rolling Green, but on this weekend it should be “Rolling Red, White and Blue.”

There are nearly 6,000 flags on the graves of veterans and on Friday afternoon there was a Memorial Day remembrance ceremony paid tribute to those who died in uniform.

God has blessed America with men and women willing to fight. And if necessary die. Many have.

“It is a solemn day,” Treasurer Stacy Garrity said. It’s a solemn day of remembrance.” Garrity is a retired army colonel. She is one of the lucky ones who came home. Her thoughts are with those who didn’t.

“That’s the reason why people go out and have Memorial Day picnics and all the celebrations they have,” Garrity said. “Wouldn’t be possible if it would have been for those brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.”

Can you legally break the speed limit in Pennsylvania? What to know

“My husband is here today,” Ruth Clarke said. Her thoughts are with her husband. “Is interred here,” she said. “So I come to see him quite often.”

He wasn’t killed in action but saw it. “Oh, 20 years in the Navy,” Clarke said.

New Cumberland mayor Joan Erney is moved by the gently flapping flags, nearly 5,700 of them on the graves of veterans.

“Is so impressive and so it’s just a wonderful, warm and meaningful place to be,” Erney said.

Thanks for signing up!

Watch for us in your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Nittany Insiders

Erney was just elected last November and she knows we’re a nation divided into red camps and blue camps but hopes the red, white and blue of this weekend can be unifying.

“Despite your politics, despite what you believe, who you are, this is a day that we can all come together and it’s so important to remember those who have lost that we’ve lost and and just take a pause in our busy lives and and be able to be here in this beautiful space,” Erney said.

Many will pray for those who have died this weekend. Clarke sends hers to the living.

“I just pray that the younger generation gets an appreciation of what it’s all about,” Clarke said. “Yeah, like the older generation gets it.”

This cemetery is open all weekend. The public is welcome. Can’t make it? Then reflect on the fact that many died so that we may live.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.