CARMEL – A small army of volunteers converged on the Putnam County seat Saturday and within three hours, posted 654 American flags along the Gleneida lakeshore as Memorial Day approaches on Monday, May 27.
Karl Rohde, director of the Putnam County Veterans Services Agency, beamed with pride as he led the ‘troops’ unfurling the flags, each carefully placed in holders along Gleneida Avenue from the intersection of Route 301 to Route 6.
The first Row of Honor was unfurled more than a decade ago as a memorial to veterans. “We raised 88 flags that year and due to Putnam’s patriotism and love for its country, the number has continued to grow,” Rohde said.
He purchased flag No. 523 because when he was stationed in Vietnam, the Silver Star recipient served in the Army’s 523rd Signal Battalion.
