10,000 flags salute military at Arizona campus for Memorial Day
May 22, 2018, 7:30 AM | Updated: 12:21 pm
(KTAR Photo/Jim Cross)
(KTAR Photo/Jim Cross)
PHOENIX — Volunteers finished planting thousands of U.S. flags at the University of Phoenix early Tuesday, in an annual tribute to the men and women who died serving their country.
The field of flags is about 100 yards long and 25 feet wide on the lawn of the main campus near Interstate 10 and 32nd Street.
The school has put together the 10,000-flag Memorial Day salute for the past nine years.
The outline was finished Monday night. Once completed, the flags spelled out this year’s theme: Fallen. Not Forgotten.
The message will be best seen from high above the ground. With Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport nearby, thousands could get a glimpse of the arrangement.
“On a personal basis, this is one of the greatest things the university does,” John Ramirez, dean of operations for the School of Advanced Studies, said.
The 27-year Army veteran added the display was of “significant importance to me.”
Last year’s message was Honoring Our Heroes.
The flags will be removed by volunteers on Friday and taken to the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, where they will be placed on grave markers.
The cemetery is at Cave Creek and Pinnacle Peak roads in Phoenix.
KTAR News’ Jim Cross contributed to this report.
