If you’ve driven by Southold High School during the month of November in the past three years, you’ve surely noticed the magnificent field of American and military branch flags on display in front of the main entrance.
Last year there were 66 flags flying in the Southold High School freshman class Memorial Meadow Field of Flags and organizer Christine Imbriano, a special education teacher and freshman class advisor, hopes that this year there will be even more.
Each flag is sponsored and bears the name of the person or group the flag flies in memory of. The idea for the field of flags came from similar sites Imbriano had seen in other towns.
“I was always struck by how beautiful it was and I decided I would love to bring it to our community,” she says. “So we just jumped into it and now it’s the fourth time we’re doing it.”
The freshmen help Imbriano put the flags on the poles, label the ribbons and set up the display in front of the school. The students also bring flyers home to solicit sponsorships from friends and family members.
Imbriano says that although the field of flags is done as a freshman class service project, it’s something that involves the entire community.
“Anyone can sponsor a flag,” she says.
It costs $25 to sponsor a flag and the proceeds are split between the freshman class and the Veterans Health Alliance, an organization that supports veterans on Long Island as they transition from military to civilian life.
The field will be set up on Nov. 4 and will stay in place until Dec. 8, the day after Pearl Harbor Day.
If you would like to sponsor a flag, email Christine Imbriano and she will send you a form which can be filled out and returned to the school. After Dec. 8 you can come to the school and pick up your flag. Any flag that is not claimed will be added to next year’s field. As of today Air Force, Coast Guard, POW-MIA and American flags are still available to sponsor.
