On Saturday, May 27, Chuck Seaver, a retired Police Officer and a fifth-generation resident of Clermont met with members of the Kiwanis Club of Clermont, along with family, friends and community leaders at Oak Hill Cemetary to place flags on the graves of those who served their country and community. Throughout the week, the flags proudly fly until next weekend when the flags will be taken down.
The tradition started approximately 40 years ago when Chuck’s grandfather, Oakley Seaver, and Oakley’s sister, Nelle Seaver, began walking the cemetery and placing flags on the resting places of veterans. Alone, they created the original map used for locating veterans for the flag placements”.
As the program grew, Oakley, a longtime Kiwanis Club of Clermont member, asked the club to take the program over. Since that time, the club has placed flags on the veterans’ final resting place annually on Veterans Day and Memorial Day. The flags are left in place for a period of one week. “I took the program over in 2018 and since then we have included first responders into the program as they are such an important part of keeping our community safe”, explained Seaver. “Many of the first responders recognized were actually volunteer positions for the city’s fire department back when the entire department was made up of volunteers.” Chuck says he has continuously updated the database, adding additional flags to the inventory, and has included first responders to the list (A total of 384 flags were placed on graves)
Chuck takes his duties seriously. He can be seen walking the cemetery throughout the week remaining vigilant that the flags remain upright.
Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.
Visit Oak Hill Cemetary, located on East Avenue directly off Hwy 50 in Clermont, to pay homage to our deceased heroes.
