2,000 flags at tombstones to honor Des Plaines veterans over Memorial Day weekend

Members of the Des Plaines veterans community are planning to honor those who died and served their country in a special way this year.

For the first time over Memorial Day weekend, small American flags will be placed at the tombstone of every veteran buried at All Saints Cemetery - an undertaking called Operation Flags for Vets. Organizers hope it will become an annual event.

They're looking for volunteers to help place the estimated 1,500 to 2,000 flags throughout the Des Plaines cemetery May 23 - the Saturday before Memorial Day.

"There's a lot of veterans up there and I thought it'd be a great way to honor them," said Kevin O'Connell, a retired Des Plaines police officer who is leading the flag placement effort.

And during Des Plaines' annual Memorial Day ceremony at Lake Park, five Des Plaines men who died during the Korean War will be recognized. Members of VFW Post 2992, the organizers of the ceremony, are hoping to find family members of the five men - Richard Becker, Robert Beth, Donald Engh, Sam Wakefield and William Zoellick - in hopes they will be able to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony.

At the very least, they're hoping veterans of the "Forgotten War" will participate in the ceremony.

"The ceremony was boilerplate each year. This year it kind of just came to me," VFW Post Commander Mike Lake said of focusing on the Korean War. "It's something different and unique."

To volunteer or for more information, contact the VFW Post at (847) 296-9878.