During the 4th of July week, a heartwarming sight greeted those driving through Neighborhood 9 — flags proudly flying underneath some of the mailboxes. This initiative was sparked by Cindy Byrd, a resident in N9, who sent an email to her neighbors, asking if they were veterans and, if so, which branch of service they served in.
Byrd said, “It would be nice to bring awareness to how many military veterans we have living among us. For those veterans that responded to my email, a flag with a tag identifying the veteran’s name and branch of service was placed in front of their mailbox for the holiday.”
Byrd served in the Air Force for fourteen years. She was a computer operator assigned to three locations during her tenure. The first assignment was at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.
“My next assignment was in Tuscan, Arizona, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and my last was at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Las Vegas,” she said.
Esther Bell, a resident in N9 said, “Cindy helps and recognizes veterans whenever she can. She has even driven them and picked them up from O’Hare in the middle of the night so they can go on their Honor Flight to Washington DC. Neighborhood 9 is proud to have her.”
A diverse group of sixteen veterans, representing different branches of the military, answered Byrd’s call. Among them were six Army veterans, five Navy veterans, four Airforce veterans, and two Marines. The math may not add up to 16, but that’s because one resident proudly served in both the Navy and as a Marine.
The flags will be collected after the Fourth of July week, but they will be back.
“I plan to collect the flags after the holiday and hold them for safekeeping, to be placed by the mailboxes for all patriotic holidays,” she said.
Byrd walked through the neighborhood, placing flags to honor each identified Veteran. To each of them, she sent a heartfelt message: “To my brothers and sisters in arms, as each flag was placed, I rendered you the proper military salute. It was an ‘honor’ to ‘honor’ you.”
