BAKER COUNTY, Fla. – Flags and crosses can be seen along parts of US 90 and Highway 125 in Baker County to honor those who served our country.
The display happens twice a year around Memorial Day and Veterans Day to pay tribute to those who were willing to risk it all to protect us.
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Huey Fourquet is with American Legion Post 83 and also the chairman of the Heroes Forever Project, the group that started this display back in 2018.
“It’s just patriotic,” Fourquet said. “People are very patriotic. People are very appreciative of the sacrifices that veterans make.”
There are 882 of those flags and crosses stretching from Macclenny to Glen Saint Mary, honoring veterans who may still be alive and others who are no longer with us.
People like Fourquet’s brother, Lewis, and Army veteran, who died last year at 58 years old.
“Remind the public that the freedoms that we enjoy are not free. There is a big price for the freedoms that we enjoy,” Fourquet said.
There are also black stripes on some of the crosses that designate a veteran who died. In the future, Fourquet said he hopes to have symbols to recognize those who died in action or are missing in action.
Larry Carroll was killed while fighting in the Vietnam War in 1968. He was just 19 years old at the time and three months away from returning home.
His older sister Patricia Jacobs misses her baby brother dearly.
“He was your typical all-American boy. He played football, he played the saxophone. He had a girlfriend, and they were writing each other the whole time that he was in Vietnam. He was kind of a happy-go-lucky kind of man,” Jacobs said.
Carroll’s cross and flag made their debut in the display after his name had been on the long waiting list for a few years. Fourquet said there are 230 names on the list.
Jacobs and Fourquet consider the showcase to be beautiful.
“This display kind of shows that we do remember what sacrifices they made so that we can have our freedom. The community really loves this program. You would be surprised at how many emails and phone calls we get expressing gratitude for the display of the crosses and the flags, even for the people who don’t have crosses and flags out there,” they said.
It’s a way to say thank you to these brave men and women who laid everything on the line to keep us free.
To get names on the waitlist to have a cross and flag added to the display, Fourquet said people have to subscribe to the Heroes Program and fill out the form by clicking here.
It will cost $50 for a two-year membership and can be renewed for $25 for an additional two years.
