By Julia Train
On the Fourth of July, a sea of small American flags flapped in the wind at the Atlantic County Veterans Cemetery. It was all thanks to the hard work of some dedicated volunteers the week before.
It was a sweltering 80 degrees on June 28 when a group of people gathered together and placed the miniature flags at more than 6,000 graves. Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops from around Atlantic County showed up to help park system employees complete the task, a tradition that happens every Veterans Day, Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.
According to the Atlantic County website, scouts who perform this service on two out of the three annual occasions are eligible to receive the Atlantic County Patriotism Patch in recognition of their efforts.
The flags, supplied by the Atlantic County government, are placed in the ground at each grave about a week before the holidays and removed in between the holidays so the cemetery grounds can be maintained.
Upon arrival, scouts checked in with park staff, who possessed papers with the names of people who helped in the past. Then they split into groups of two or three and took handfuls of flags from buckets located around the cemetery and poked them into the ground.
Although it’s mostly local scouting troops helping out, others also volunteer. Often families of the deceased, community members and employees of local companies lend a hand.
The Atlantic County Veterans Cemetery was officially dedicated in May 1985 and expanded in 2014 to add 650 plots.
The second phase of expansion is under way, along with other park upgrades which will include a columbarium for up to 900 cremation urns, drainage and irrigation systems, accessible parking, a new restroom facility and paving of the path for walking and riding bikes.
The cemetery is located in the Atlantic County Park in Estell Manor, 3.5 miles south of Mays Landing on Route 50. The cemetery serves as a final resting place for eligible veterans of the United States Armed Forces and their spouses.
Each year, a memorial ceremony is held at the cemetery for Memorial Day, where attendees can hear the stories of former members of the armed forces and the service of those at rest in the cemetery is remembered.
A veteran is considered eligible if they died while on active duty in the armed forces, retired from the regular armed forces, National Guard, or Reserve and lived in Atlantic County for two years. The full list of criteria can be found here. https://www.atlantic-county.org/documents/parks/vet-cemetery-application-regulations.pdf.
The park also has a veterans museum which pays homage to county residents that served their country.
The museum, which opened in 2017, collects personal memorabilia and artifacts. Its hours of operation are Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The park is open from 7:30 in the morning until half an hour after sunset.
The Atlantic County Veterans Museum is located in the historic Daniel Estell House, adjacent to the Atlantic County Park at Estell Manor and the Atlantic County Veterans Cemetery. Built in 1832 and purchased by the county in 1993, it includes military artifacts and personal donations from every war and conflict beginning with the Revolutionary War through modern day.
It was once the home of Rebecca Estell Bourgeois Winston, the first mayor of Estell Manor and New Jersey’s first female mayor.
