Of all the ways to celebrate a bang-up Fourth of July, there’s not a lot of time for quiet reflection. But a hush falls over the Field of Honor, a sea of American flags waving in Seven Gables Park. “It gives you goose bumps,” says Rudy Keller, a retired high school educator who enlists an army of volunteers to assemble and plant 2,000 flagpoles in a park soccer field.
Manhard Consulting, an engineering and surveying firm, used lasers to plot the 25 neat rows, with 80 flagpoles posted in each one. The solemn display stays up through July Fourth in tribute to veterans, the fallen, active-duty military and hometown heroes. The laminated tags attached to the 8-foot-tall flagpoles bear their names and often a personal, handwritten note left by their loved ones.
“The message on that tag makes each flag special and humbling,” Keller said. On each evening leading up to Independence Day, there are Honor Guard ceremonies, plane flyovers and patriotic performances, starting with bagpipers at 6:30 p.m.
in the field full of flags off Naperville Road. The Christ Presbyterian Church choir will belt out the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” Sunday. The Chorus of DuPage will sing the melodies of George M.
Cohan July 2. The nightly ritual will conclude with a rendition of taps. Some people visit the Field of Honor simply to walk among the flags and read the dedication tags.
“It’s something you’ll remember forever,” Keller said. Keller has been organizing large-scale flag proj.