South Fayette man repairs hundreds of flag holders at veteran gravesites
Last year on Memorial Day, Dean Stewart noticed that many of the flags marking the graves of veterans at Robinson’s Run Cemetery were falling over.
Bob Moreau, superintendent of the McDonald graveyard, said Stewart offered a fix.
“He approached me and said he noticed a lot of the flag holders were loose, the tops were stripped and falling off,” Moreau said. “We started pulling them a dozen at a time.”
Stewart, of South Fayette Township, said his father, along with many other relatives and close friends, are buried at Robinson’s Run.
“It just irritated the heck out of me when I saw the flags touching the ground,” Stewart said.
He estimates that he repaired close to 300 flag holders at the cemetery. For Stewart, the project was a way to honor the veterans resting there.
“People say they live their lives and don’t have any regrets, and I think that’s a lie,” Stewart said. “One of the things I have regretted is not serving the country. This in no way makes up for that, but the flags are sticking up straight.”
According to Moreau, veterans from conflicts dating back to the Revolutionary War are buried at Robinson’s Run.
He said that the flag holders falling into disrepair has been a common issue.
“We’ve been dealing with it for years. We’re up on a hill, the wind blows constantly,” Moreau said.
Stewart described the problem as an “easy fix.” He reinforced the holders with two stainless steel nuts, and used Loctite on the threaded rod.
“If you put Loctite on a thread, once it is set you have to heat that nut up to 300 degrees to get it to screw. I don’t think any of them will loosen up now,” Stewart said.
With the ease of the repair, Stewart thinks fixing these flag holders would be a worthwhile endeavor for Eagle Scouts looking for a project.
“I would be happy to teach them how to do it. I think that would be really cool for a kid to do,” Stewart said.
When Stewart visited Robinson’s Run this past Memorial Day, he was happy to see there were no longer flags touching the ground.
“To me, all the soldiers out there were standing at attention,” Stewart said.