Veterans' tombstones gain stars, stripes at Little Rock cemetery

Volunteers again place tiny Memorial Day flags in Mount Holly Cemetery

John Smith, 13, of Mabelvale plants flags Sunday at Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock next to the graves of those who served in the armed forces.
John Smith, 13, of Mabelvale plants flags Sunday at Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock next to the graves of those who served in the armed forces.

With a cane in each hand and sack of small American flags flung over his shoulder, a retired airman hobbled through a maze of tombstones at Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock on Sunday, searching for the graves of some 474 veterans.

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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Marianne Ligon of Little Rock counts flags before handing them out Sunday at Little Rock’s Mount Holly Cemetery.

William Saunders, an Air Force navigator from 1954-1957, acknowledged that he wouldn't be able to place many miniature flags but that the 74 other volunteers could pick up the slack to ensure no former service member spent Memorial Day without the flag he or she defended in the ground beside them.

"Everyone should do their part to remember," Saunders said. "It's a gift to be free. We need to remember and treasure that."

Volunteers and cemetery board members gathered at the historic downtown graveyard for the sixth straight year on the Sunday before Memorial Day. Bursting flower blooms usually draw the eyes of visitors, but from Memorial Day until the Fourth of July, red, white and blue dominates the uneven landscape.

Church groups, Boy Scout packs and other organizations volunteered their time Sunday. Among them were Vietnam veterans and children too young to remember the start of the Iraq war.

The many children at the cemetery brought a smile to Saunders' face.

"That's a good sign," he said, pointing at a group of children. "It takes eternal vigilance to keep this freedom."

The crowd was larger than usual, according to Mount Holly Cemetery board member Matilda Buchanan. The community has been eager to help since unknown vandals damaged 11 monuments, statues and markers April 20.

"People seem to be rallying around the cemetery since all the vandalism occurred," Buchanan said.

The culprits hopped the cemetery's fence and caused almost $300,000 in damage. A $5,000 reward has been offered for the offender's capture. The Little Rock Police Department is investigating the vandalism as first-degree criminal mischief -- a Class C felony.

Trash bags remained fixed atop the graves of two sisters where Italian Carrara marble statues once overlooked the graves. Pearl Reed Basham died at age 6 in 1886. Her sister, Martha Parma Basham, died a year later at age 5.

Those two statues were broken off at the ankles. Another 5-foot "mourner" statue overlooked the entire Basham family plot. It broke into three pieces when it struck the ground.

Many of the other statues have been repaired.

Metro on 05/30/2016

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