Every veteran buried in Sanilac County will have an American flag placed at their gravesite this Memorial Day. That commitment became official this week when county commissioners approved a purchase that ensures no veteran’s grave goes without the recognition it deserves.
The Sanilac County Board of Commissioners authorized the veteran affairs office to move forward with the purchase of American flags and flag holders to be placed on veteran gravesites in cemeteries throughout the county. It is a tradition rooted in law, funded by the community, and carried out year after year by the people who believe that honoring those who served is not optional — it is an obligation.
What Was Approved and What It Costs
The commissioners approved two separate purchases to make this year’s Memorial Day commemoration possible. The veteran affairs office was authorized to purchase 40 gross of American flags from National Flag and Display at a cost of $5,760. A gross equals 144 units, meaning 40 gross represents 5,760 individual flags — a number that reflects just how many veterans are laid to rest across Sanilac County’s cemeteries. That figure, taken in quietly, says something about the depth of military service that has come from this corner of Michigan over the generations.
The second purchase covers 36 special flag holders from New England Flag Manufacturing at a cost of $2,115. The holders ensure that flags are displayed properly and securely at each gravesite rather than simply placed on the ground. A flag standing upright at a grave looks and feels different from one left lying flat — the posture of the display matters, and investing in proper holders reflects a seriousness of intent about how these commemorations are conducted.
The combined total for both purchases comes to $7,875. That money will come entirely from the veteran affairs millage — funds collected specifically to support services and programs for veterans in the county. Using millage dollars for this purpose is both appropriate and intentional. The community voted to establish that funding source, and directing it toward Memorial Day commemoration is one of the clearest expressions of what veteran affairs funding is meant to do.
The Law Behind the Tradition
The practice of placing flags on veteran gravesites is not simply a custom that counties choose to follow or skip based on budget or preference. It is grounded in Michigan law. Michigan Public Act 63 of 1915 specifically provides for the furnishing of suitable flag holders and United States flags for the graves of veterans for memorial purposes. The law has been on the books for more than a century, a reflection of how deeply and how early Michigan recognized the obligation to mark and honor the final resting places of those who served.
The same act includes a provision making it a punishable offense to remove or destroy flag holders and flags once they have been placed on a veteran’s grave. That protection exists because what those flags represent deserves to be defended — they are not decorations that can be casually disturbed. They are markers of service and sacrifice, placed deliberately and protected deliberately.
The fact that this law has existed since 1915 — a time when the graves it protected belonged to veterans of the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and the earliest days of the 20th century — gives it a kind of historical weight that is easy to overlook in the routine business of a county commission meeting. The commissioners approving this purchase this week are participating in a chain of obligation that goes back more than 110 years.
What Memorial Day Looks Like on the Ground
For most Americans, Memorial Day is a long weekend — a day off, a cookout, maybe a parade. For the veteran affairs offices in counties like Sanilac, it is the culmination of weeks of preparation. Someone has to know which cemeteries contain veteran graves, how many flags each location needs, when the placement teams will go out, and how to handle the logistics of making sure no gravesite is missed.
That coordination requires both resources and organization. The 5,760 flags approved for purchase this week will need to be distributed across multiple cemeteries in time for Memorial Day weekend. The 36 flag holders will need to be assigned and placed at the gravesites that require them. Volunteers and veteran affairs staff will spend hours in cemeteries across the county doing the physical work of honoring men and women who wore the uniform.
Most of the people whose graves will receive a flag this May will not be known to the general public. They are not famous veterans. They are not the ones who appear in history books or war memorials in the town square. They are the ordinary men and women who served because they were called, or because they chose to, and who came home to build lives in small Michigan communities before eventually being laid to rest in the county cemeteries where a flag will now mark their service every Memorial Day.
That is exactly who this purchase is for — and that is exactly why it matters.
Health Department Flooring Also Approved
In other business at the same meeting, commissioners gave approval for the county health department to replace its flooring. The project will be completed by Flooring Edge Inc. at a cost of $16,250, with new carpet being installed throughout the facility. While less ceremonially significant than the veteran commemoration purchase, maintaining functional and presentable health department facilities is a basic requirement of delivering public health services effectively, and the commissioners addressed it alongside the Memorial Day preparation in the same session.
A County That Shows Up for Its Veterans
Sanilac County’s decision to fund this purchase through the veteran affairs millage — and to do so with enough lead time to ensure everything is in place before Memorial Day — reflects a community that takes its obligations to veterans seriously. Not every county handles Memorial Day commemoration with this level of organization and financial commitment. The fact that Sanilac does, and has the legal and financial infrastructure to back it up, is worth acknowledging.
This is the kind of local government action that does not generate controversy or headlines in the traditional sense. There are no competing interests, no public hearings required, no protesters on either side. There is simply a recognition that the county has veterans buried within its borders, that those veterans deserve to have their service marked, and that the community has both the legal obligation and the financial means to make that happen.
The region has had a particularly meaningful week when it comes to recognizing military service. Fairgrove’s own Command Sergeant Major Terry Richardson was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Trump on March 2nd — the nation’s highest military decoration — for saving the lives of 85 fellow soldiers during a Vietnam War ambush in 1968. Sanilac County’s Memorial Day preparation, while quieter in nature, draws from that same well of respect for those who served.
For Michigan residents who want to learn more about the history of Michigan Public Act 63 of 1915 and the legal framework governing veteran grave commemorations across the state, the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs maintains resources on veteran services, benefits, and commemorative programs available to Michigan’s veteran community. And for those interested in the broader national tradition of Memorial Day grave marking and how veteran service organizations coordinate those efforts across the country, the Veterans of Foreign Wars has been one of the primary organizations leading and supporting these efforts for over a century.
