On Memorial Day weekend, Field of the Fallen honors American servicemen and women
CHICAGO (CBS) — The mission this Memorial Day weekend is to remember the brave.
A memorial made of hundreds of flags is going up in the far northwest suburbs for the Field of the Fallen.
They pound into the ground with profound pride and attach tags with the utmost care.
Volunteers in Cary, Illinois, put in the work to make an empty field feel full of flags.
Full of respect for servicemen and women from illinois who died serving their country since 1991.
"Each one of these flags has the name of a fallen servicemember, so in a way, this is a cemetery," said volunteer Doug Katz.
It's called the Field of the Fallen.
"They die once on the battlefield, and they die a second time when you forget who they were," said volunteer David Bloomfield. "Our mission is not to let those soldiers be forgotten."
More than 350 American flags and one black flag to represent a servicemember killed just this year.
A temporary memorial close to home where Illinois's fallen are not forgotten.
This year, organizers added a special section to honor veterans lost to suicide.
You can visit the memorial next to the Aldi on Three Oaks Road in Cary.
"Makes you feel real good. Restores your faith in humanity," Bloomfield said.
"It's not clipping a tag onto a flag. It's a person is represented by each flag, so we're looking at them, and they died for us," said volunteer Diane Burns.
Starting Friday evening, volunteers will begin reading all of their names.
"It's just very special what they're willing to go through to protect us," Burns said.
The field will be open to visitors 24 hours a day through Memorial Day.
"It's basically trying to mimic Arlington National Cemetery," Bloomfield said.
