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Volunteers place flags at Fort Snelling

It's the final resting place for thousands of fallen heroes.

FORT SNELLING, Minn. — Fort Snelling is the final resting place for thousands of men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.

This weekend, hundreds of volunteers are making sure those heroes are not forgotten. 

The volunteers include dozens of Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association members. They rode in on their motorcycles to Fort Snelling, each with a special connection to the place.

"I re-enlisted, went back into the reserve and deployed a couple of times to Afghanistan," Dave "Top" Spalding said. 

He's the current state representative for CVMA. 

"It's vets helping vets and we have full members, auxiliary members, support members, we all help each other," Spalding said. "It's all there is to it."

So it's no surprise that he was a part of a process that made sure those who gave the ultimate sacrifice were taken care of.

"The flag, I mean when we enlisted, we swore to defend the Constitution of the United States against enemies foreign and domestic," Spalding said. "We swore in under a flag."

Spalding went to each headstone and carefully planted each flag approximately a foot away from the front. 

"I believe everybody still has the opportunity to be what you want to be," Spalding said, referring to the freedoms that many of us enjoy, thanks to those who fought.

With the help of dozens of volunteers today, Fort Snelling started to look ready for Memorial Day. Spalding soaked in the sight of thousands of flags adorning the headstones. 

"It's sobering and beautiful," he described.

On Sunday, thousands more Flags for Fort Snelling volunteers will continue placing flags with the goal of putting them by every headstone.

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