By Patrick Olivero
MIDDLETOWN – Volunteers planted approximately 5,000 American flags on the front lawn of Westminster Presbyterian Church Oct. 10, beginning the congregation’s annual tribute to veterans with help from community partners who supplied thousands of replacement flags.
Scouts and residents worked among the rows, carrying bundles of flags and planting them in the ground. The installation was the first of two events planned for this year’s Field of Flags, with a dedication ceremony scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24.
Dave D’Arcy, a church elder and member of the Field of Flags committee, said preparations presented an unusual challenge this year. About 4,000 flags needed replacing after years of wear, and the committee lacked the funding.
The organizers reached out to community partners. Dennis Beauregard, a former church elder involved with the Veterans of Foreign Wars, contacted VFW posts and helped secure the 4,000 flags needed for the display, D’Arcy said.
“It took one phone call, and then Dennis was on a mission,” D’Arcy said.
He credited Beauregard and the VFW with filling a gap the committee wasn’t sure it could cover. D’Arcy also identified the Middletown PBA and local businesses among the partners that have helped support the annual project.
The display began during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as a way for the church to remember fallen service members and express support for veterans, D’Arcy said. The original plan called for a flag for each service member lost in those conflicts. Over time, that display grew to more than 7,000 flags before organizers settled on approximately 5,000 for the annual installation.
Preparing the lawn began before volunteers arrived; committee co-chairs Ron Wade and Gordon Livingston marked the field and planted the first rows the night before, giving participants a pattern to follow, D’Arcy said.
The work has regularly drawn Scout troops, high school students, firefighters, emergency medical personnel and neighbors. On Oct. 10, volunteers in Scout uniforms worked alongside other participants as rows of small flags filled the lawn.
The church also partnered this year with Alpha Wave Project, a nonprofit supporting veterans and first responders.
For D’Arcy, the display’s purpose continues beyond installation day. He said he regularly sees people walking through the field or pausing among the flags, and hoped the church could offer a quiet place for reflection.
The flags are expected to remain through Veterans Day, after which volunteers will gradually remove them.
This article originally appeared in the October 22-28, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
