By Mike Finney

DOVER — Nancy Quinn and five members of the historic Christ Episcopal Church’s History and Cemetery Committee came armed with American flags on Friday afternoon in preparation for Memorial Day.

The team braved hot sunshine and temperatures in the low 80s to place American flags on the grave sites of nearly 150 veterans who are buried in the cemetery at the intersection of South State and Water streets.

“We place flags (on veterans’ graves) every year, but this year we got these new markers,” said Nancy Quinn, chairperson of the History and Cemetery Committee at Christ Church. “They’re all the same height and they look bronze, but they’re plastic.

“We had a fund drive, so we got quite a bit of the money. They cost about $20 apiece. We were expecting 150 flag holders, but we had some extras. We leave them out until Veterans Day when we take them down. The flags will be kept away from grass and mud and will be a significant improvement for the look of our cemetery.”

Rich Crothers, a member of the Cemetery Committee and a 13-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, donated the flags.

Ms. Quinn pointed out that among the historic statesmen buried in the cemetery, there are also numerous veterans buried there, including 60 who served in World War II, 23 in Vietnam, 21 apiece in the Civil War and World War I, 11 in Korea, five in the American Revolution and three in the War of 1812.

William Kirk Baynard was a prisoner of war in World War II who died in Japan. George Durney was also a prisoner of war for 14 months in Europe during World War II before returning home.

Ellen Richardson participated in the flag installation and was touched when she looked out and saw all the red, white and blue flags the group had put up in just under 30 minutes.

“It’s tremendous, especially with the atmosphere in the country lately,” said Ms. Richardson. “I don’t think there’s enough pride taken in these veterans who served and gave so much.

“We have a History Committee and a Cemetery Committee. Between the two of them we’ve been able to research every single stone out here and try to find out when they died, how they died, who their parents were, who their children were … and that’s really, really challenging.”

Mr. Crothers said he wished more lessons about the sacrifices the veterans made in the past would be taught to the youth of today.

“It’s important to remember and, unfortunately, there’s so many young people in this country that don’t even think about it anymore,” he said. “These guys stepped up, and it’s a good thing that we remember them.”

Conni Miller said the church’s cemetery is filled with local history, and many of those buried there fought for America’s freedoms that we still enjoy today.

“This (cemetery) takes us all the way back to the beginning of the country,” Ms. Miller said. “It’s very, very important to recognize these veterans. I’m a child of a veteran and they’re my family.”

Robert Marston and LaVaughn Jones were also members of the committee out placing flags on veterans’ grave sites.

When Ms. Quinn was finished overseeing the installation of the flags on Friday and checking off all the names, she still had some work to do.

She was ready to go walk back through the cemetery and take some photographs to ensure that the flags were all the same height.

Studying the history of the church has become a passion for Ms. Quinn, who noted that Christ Episcopal Church was founded in 1704, with its brick sanctuary built in 1734, which they are still using for worship services.

“The History and Cemetery Committee at Christ Church has been researching our church history for several years,” she said. “We have had a ground penetrating radar survey completed in the cemetery in 2021.

“It was very helpful in locating unmarked graves, and more accurate maps were created.”

It may be a time-consuming process, but it is one that Ms. Quinn and members of the committee have come to cherish.

Staff writer Mike Finney can be reached at 302-741-8230 or mfinney@iniusa.org.
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