The Avenue of Flags at Green Mount Catholic Cemetery in Belleville will be on display for the 29th time on Memorial Day, May 26. The avenue, which salutes Catholic veterans, began in 1996 with two flags but has grown to 175. Most of the flags honor the memory of parishioners from the Cathedral of St. Peter in Belleville, although others from the metro-east are also remembered (Submitted photo).
Another appearance of the “Avenue of Flags” is on tap for Memorial Day on May 26 at scenic Green Mount Catholic Cemetery in east Belleville.
The Avenue of Flags honors Catholic members of the military who have died — some of them in combat. Each flag is made of cotton and measures 9 feet by 5 feet.
The event began in 1996 and was founded by former Cathedral of St. Peter parishioners Dallas Richter and his wife, Agnes. Another parishioner, Melvin Becker, quickly became involved. There were two flags in 1996; there are now 175. Dallas Richter and Becker were World War II veterans and are buried at Green Mount.
With the exception of 2020 when the country was in the throes of the pandemic, the Avenue of Flags has been held each Memorial Day as a way to salute veterans. A large majority of them are from Cathedral.
“Being a veteran, this means a lot to me,” said Walt Ortmann of Belleville, a 78-year-old Germantown native who attends Cathedral. “We have to remember (those) who served to protect our country.”
Ortmann is a U.S. Navy veteran who became involved in the Avenue of Flags in 2001 following his retirement from Shell Oil Refinery in Wood River. Ortmann, a jack of all trades, introduced an auger that was used to drill holes in the ground for the flagpoles. Until then, workers had to pound PVC pipes into the ground by hand.
Upon his death, Ortmann’s name will be on one of the flags that fly each Memorial Day.
“It had been going for a little while when I retired and joined the Wednesday Work Crew at Cathedral,” Ortmann said, recalling a 2001 conversation he had with Dallas Richter and Becker. “The Wednesday before Memorial Day, they said, ‘We’re going to the cemetery to start getting ready for the flags.’ That’s when I got involved with it. And I stayed involved until I started to have some medical issues.
“I still come out and help a little bit behind the scenes. I don’t do a lot of the hard work like putting up the flags anymore. But I have done that before.”
For years, the Richters (Agnes also is deceased) visited cemeteries on
Memorial Day and were saddened when they discovered no flags to honor veterans were blowing in the breeze at Green Mount.
Dallas Richter approached former Cathedral Msgr. James McCormick, also deceased, who gave him the go-ahead to organize a way to salute Catholic veterans. Others, particularly Becker, dived into the project. Of course, extra hands were always welcomed to help with the Avenue of Flags setup.
The flagpoles are placed in position the evening before Memorial Day. At 6 a.m. each Memorial Day, the flags are run up the poles and a special Mass is held at 9 a.m. The same schedule will be followed this year. Catholic War Veterans Post 370 will again provide the color guard for the Mass.
Bill Mueller, a Belleville resident and Cathedral parishioner, is in awe of the Avenue of Flags each year.
“There are and were bigger and better displays, with more flags,” said Mueller, 73, one of the event organizers. “But there’s nothing that can match this scenery (at Green Mount). I’ve been told this is the highest point in St. Clair County. I’m not sure about that, but I would say it’s one of the highest. It’s a beautiful sight, with wide-open space and orchards around us. You just get a panoramic view that you won’t find anywhere else.”
Many of the flags were donated by family members and are the actual flags that were on the veteran’s coffin at the time of his funeral. If flags are not available, they are purchased. They are stored together in a safe place and unpacked again for each Memorial Day.
Ortmann recommends people to take a tour around Green Mount Cemetery on Memorial Day.
“If I was talking to somebody and they were interested, I would tell them to come out here,” he said. “When you come up Green Mount (Road) and you’re climbing that hill, it’s impressive.”