Center Grove student honors veterans with flags

After seeing a commercial for a national organization that helps veterans, a Center Grove High School student wanted to start his own effort.

Landon Blackwell was watching television when he saw an advertisement seeking donations for the Wounded Warrior Project. The stories featured in the commercial touched him.

“I felt so bad, I just wanted to pay them back,” Blackwell said.

While giving money to help veterans is always a good way to help, he wanted to do something that required a bit more effort, Blackwell said.

Blackwell decided to use his own money and raise money to place hundreds of American flags on veteran’s graves at the biggest cemeteries in the county. He ordered the flags and researched how to tell if a grave marker belongs to a veteran.

Now, he spends some free time ordering the flags and placing them on the graves of fallen veterans.

Flags now dot the graves of between 300 and 400 veterans at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Greenwood, and between 100 and 150 veterans at Greenlawn Cemetery in Franklin. Veterans buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Greenwood are getting flags, too.

Those veterans served the country, and a flag seemed like a way to honor them, Blackwell said.

“It was for veterans and people who fought for our country,” he said. “They made the ultimate sacrifice.” 

Blackwell took about $150 of his own money to buy flags and shared his mission on social media. People seemed interested in helping. Another $250 has been raised on a GoFundMe account.

“I want to make people not forget that people fought for our country,” Blackwell said.

Cemeteries in Johnson County are his target for now. But he wants to keep the project going indefinitely, Blackwell said.

“I want to keep going on and on without a limit,” he said. “I can start a spark that can lead to a fire.”

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Here is where to donate money to help Landon Blackwell buy flags to put on veteran’s graves.

Go to: www.gofundme.com/american-flags-for-fallen-veterans

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