TULSA, Okla. — Youth on guard performed a changing of the guard ceremony outside the floral haven funeral home in Broken Arrow.
The reenactment of the tomb of the unknown soldier ceremony was held every half hour and it brought out many families.
Ernest Beavers served in the U.S. Air Force for 22 and half years. he served in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970.
He was part of the crowd that attended Green Country’s reenactment of the Tomb of the Unknown Solider.
“I’m glad to see veterans recognized like this, and I’m glad I can still be here,” Beavers said. “I’m 83 and still going strong.”
Each one of these flags at the reenactment is a government issued flag that drapes the caskets of veterans.
“It’s not a display that could [have] been bought and paid for,” said General Manager of Floral Haven Walter Still said. “It was bought and paid for by the blood of soldiers.”
Families laid flowers near graves of fallen soldiers and tied ribbons to remember their sacrifice. Others who attended the ceremony shared their thoughts.
“We haven’t been to [Arlington, Virginia], but it’s just [a neat way] to pay respects and to honor those that gone before us that served our country,” said Jan Tidwell, one of the event’s attendees.
Floral Haven has one of the largest displays of American flags in the U.S. There’s 4,253 casket flags and 118 flags were raised this year.
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