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My Gettysburg Experience – Part One
July 13th, 2009
By Russ Phillip Jr.
We began our morning at 4:30 AM. It was still dark with the sun just barely peaking out. It was time to unload the flowers and supplies we would need to honor the resting heroes. This early in the morning, the gates to the cemetery were still chained closed. This meant that the only way we were going to get in would be by climbing the fence. Midge would not jump fence without me, he was scared to go into cemetery alone. Once over fence, we were surrounded by the tranquility of the cemetery, to the point of feeling the silence of the graves. The birds that were in the background brought a reality to our footing. As the sun began to rise, I noticed Midge filling with excitement as he began to prepare for the day’s activities.
Around 6:00 AM, the sun now over the horizon, the cemetery gates opened and Midge began preparing the flowers. Volunteers from the community and local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts saved the day when they arrived shortly after 9:00 AM. I knew we would need help from volunteers but I didn’t realize how much. We were rushed with volunteers early; boy scouts, girl scouts, their families, all there to help support Flowers for Heroes. We must have had 50 volunteers throughout the day. All were eager to help and show their patriotism as they separated flowers, created bouquets, and encouraged others to take part in this patriotic event.
As we all know, nothing ever goes as smoothly as we plan for. Some difficulties arose when our flowers were held up at customs, causing our last shipment of flowers to arrive at nearly 4:00 PM. By that time, the amount of visitors began to diminish and we all could feel our bodies tiring.
Over the next two and half hours, we were able to finish honoring the graves with another 1,000 bouquets. As the last flowers were laid upon the resting place of Pvt. John J. Baddick, I began to reflect upon the day. I couldn’t have asked for a greater group of volunteers, a more patriotic community, or a better canvas to paint the historic picture of our first event.
The day was finished; I was engulfed in a warm feeling by knowing we were able to honor some of America’s finest soldiers and bring the community a little closer while doing so.
The Flowers for Heroes team packed up our supplies and headed back to the hotel to unwind. Mission accomplished. A Job Well done. A day filled with reward, excitement, fun, laughter and a remembrance of why we were there; to honor our fallen heroes.
