NATCHEZ &045;&045; As Sadarruis Pollard took pictures of his great-grandfather’s tombstone, volunteers at the Natchez National Cemetery were placing American flags on gravesites to honor fallen soldiers on Friday morning.

The decoration is for the annual Memorial Day program that will be held at noon Monday, following the 80th annual Miss-Lou Memorial Day parade on Magnolia Street in Vidalia at 8 a.m.

Girl Scout Troops to firefighters had their hands filled with flags to show their appreciation. Girl Scout leader and mother of Pollard, Sheila Evans came in support for both the soldiers and her troop.

&uot;They’re supporting the soldiers who have passed away. They want the history to keep going on,&uot; she said.

Evans mentioned that some of the girls have relatives at the cemetery.

&uot;They want to keep the heredity going with the Memorial Service,&uot; she said.

Fire department Commander C.R. Gibson had no relatives at the gravesite, but still felt compelled to honor Natchez veterans.

&uot;They served their country and this is a way to honor them. It’s the least I can do,&uot; he said.

Nine firefighters and three fire trucks accompanied Gibson. Fortunately for the volunteers the sun shined and cool air blew that morning, but for Gibson he said even if weather was not up to par the job would have been done somehow.

Gregory Whitney, director of the Natchez National Cemetery, acknowledged that many veterans are unaware of their benefits provided by cemetery. Veterans, their spouses, and dependents have the opportunity to have their burial in a Veteran Affairs national cemetery.

&uot;Many veterans in Natchez don’t know they are eligible,&uot; Whitney said.

He said he understands why some veterans choose not to be buried at the cemetery.

&uot;In a lot of Southern towns,

(families) like to be buried together,&uot; Whitney said.

Of the more than 6,800 gravesites about 2,771 are unidentified, according to the National Cemetery. The last act of duty burial was Sgt. Henry Brown of Natchez who was killed in Iraq in 2002.

&uot;Anytime you can get the community involved and there’s pride in what they do, that just makes everything that much special,&uot; Whitney said.