CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The fourth annual Flags for Heroes took place along the Corpus Christi Bayfront this Thursday.
The flags are a token of appreciation to honor veterans and local heroes that will remain in place until this Sunday.
U.S. Navy veteran Ron McMurdy saw the flags as a sign of appreciation for those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
"You drive down the street and it's just like, 'Wow,'" McMurdy said. "This is really awesome that they would take the time to display this many flags and remember the people that have served and are currently serving."
The Flags for Heroes project began four years ago with assistance from the Rotary Club of Corpus Christi. What started with 500 flags is now nearly 1,500, and Rotary Club President Diane Lowrance is proud of what the club has become.
"And that's probably one of the best parts of this whole project," Lowrance said. "We get to meet so many veterans and we get to hear so many stories of that veteran's service to our community and to our country."
The project honors veterans and all heroes of the community. Throughout a six-month period, the flags are installed at various parks along the bay. Dianes husband, Richard, is one of those heroes.
"Well, it's very gratifying to have that flag and I'm very appreciative of that," Lowrance said. "I'm more appreciative of the men and women that served before me, served with me, and served after me, and the ones that gave it all."
While many veterans perform their duty behind the scenes, Flags for Heroes Chairman Alan Wilson wants to make sure the heroes in red, white, and blue get honored in a special way.
"Isn't it great to live in a community where heroes can be honored by posting an American flag in their name?," Wilson said. "It's not that way in other places, and it is in our community, and it makes me proud."
While pride is a common theme on Veterans Day, Lowrance wants to make sure to never forget the ones who gave more than just time.
"Some of them have given everything, given their life," Lowrance said. "And there's families out there that we call Gold Star Families, that don't have that part of their family anymore because they sacrificed that for this country and the freedoms that we have in this country."
The Flags for Heroes project also serves as a reminder to all of what sacrifice means for the country as a whole.
"I think it's really, really important that we don't forget why the country is as great as it is," McMurdy said. "The people that have died in the past and the people who are currently serving."
Whether they spent a few years serving or decades, veterans of the Coastal Bend are always saluted by the community.
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