(Editor’s Note: The following article was composed from notes and conversations with George Quinn of Big Lake).

George Quinn, one of Big Lake’s most prominent civil servants, is on a mission to preserve the Veteran’s Memorial in Big Lake by ensuring the city steps up and aids in keeping the area unspoiled throughout the year.

Quinn recently attended a Big Lake City Council meeting and during open forum, expresssed his disappointment in the city’s dealings with its sullied appearance.

“It is no secret the disappointment of veterans and visitors to the memorial on Memorial day regarding the American Flag and the POW flag looking like a mechanics rag,” he said in his two-minute speech.

“It was even more disappointing and embarrassing to have a clearly vulnerable aging vet volunteer to purchase a flag,” (for replacement).

Quinn said he had notified the city of the need to replace the flags for Memorial Day. 

“Honestly, it should have been a no brainer to assure flags were pristine for the the event,” he said. 

He went on to say he understood getting a flag can be a challenge at short notice but he mentioned there were numerous city buildings that had pristine flags available for the day, including both the police and fire departments. 

“And the numerous flags at the city schools,” he said. “The flags were unacceptable! Made even worse by the fact that we presented a folded flag to the daughter of a WW2 navy sailor.”

Quinn’s two-minute lecture eventually was silenced due to city open forum rules, but his points to the city were far from over. 

“The flag has meaning, tradition honor and  symbolizes great sacrifice and sadness,” he said. 

In Quinn’s notes, he mentioned how flags have draped the coffins of the Danielowski brothers, Clarence and Ervin (Ervin in the Mediterranean USS BUCK - Clarence at the battle of St. Lo France), Another was for Wayde Hugo, who was killed in action in Vietnam, and another for Cindy Arroyo Navy, an original member of the BTYR and Big Lake Memorial. 

“And the flag will drape the coffins of others from Big Lake in the years and decades to come,” his notes said.

Quinn says it is his and other Veteran’s opinion that the responsibility of care and maintainence of the memorial site as well as the replacement of the flag be the responsibility of the  Big Lake American Legion. 

“For it is clear they — along with other Veterans — have a heartfelt emotional bond to it that you (city) cannot and will not understand,” Quinn’s message continued. “When our ship would return to our homeport and the order ‘to shift colors’ was given  to see that flag raised on the mast gave me goosebumps,” he said. “When I  was handed a flag that covered my WW2 veteran father, when you are a pallbearer of a navy shipmate, when you present a Memorial flag to the daughter of an WW2 sailor as I did this past Memorial Day,  you understand what this flag means to my brothers and sisters.” 

Half Mast

Quinn mentioned in his notes that this year alone the flag at the memorial has been at half mast for more then 30 days  and he says he is confident “nobody at the city knows what the hell the last time was for?”

“This is not a park,” he said. “We don’t hold concerts there, we don’t show movies there and we don’t hold picnics there. This is a site of duty, honor and country. A place to enshrine the memories of our Patriots. Men and woman of Big Lake.”

Quinn’s request to the city is that the Veterans Memorial be considered a sanctuary, in regards to the flag. That the site be void of President or Governor orders to lower the flag every time it makes for good photo ops or sound bites. 

“Let this site be in regard to the American flag, its condition and its position on the mast be maintained, as deemed honorable by the American Legion.”

Quinn said the American Legion will designate when and if the flag is lowered not at the political or social view of the state’s governor or  the nation’s president.

“I make this promise to you council,” he concluded. “If I see that flag lowered for any reason other then what is of an honorable and dignified reason such as the death of a president, governor, memorial day, the loss of a Big Lake military son or daughter or a national tragedy like 911 for example — I’ll personally put it back up. You may lower it but I’ll put it back up.”

Quinn finished his sermon by asking council to produce a proclamation declaring  the Big Lake Veterans Memorial a sanctuary, free from abuse and show not only the people of Big Lake —  but the state and the nation — that this community charishes their flag and what it truly represents. 

“To show them, our veterans, our fallen brothers and sisters, that they are our treasure and will be honored unconditionally.”