The first Memorial Day flag placed by Ken Rucci Sr. on a veteran’s grave at SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery was for his father, writes Charles Fox for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
That was back in 2004, when his father and five other veterans’ graves received flags. Now Rucci, 70, returns every Memorial Day with 500 flags to honor other veterans buried in the Springfield cemetery.
His father, Paul Rucci, was a World War II Navy veteran. Placing the flag helped him deal with the loss of his father, who passed away in the fall of 2003.
It takes Rucci two days to distribute all 500 flags to veterans he doesn’t even know. He goes about quietly placing crisp, new flags on empty graves, or where a tattered flag stood.
“I got tired of coming out here and not seeing it getting done. There are so many placards [grave flag holders] that are falling over, and nobody seems to want to fix them. I don’t like that,” Rucci said.
He wants to make sure these veterans know they are not forgotten, and that each flag placed is a thank you for their service.
Read more about Frank Rucci and his annual Memorial Day flag ritual honoring his father in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on DELCO Today in May 2024.
