AVENUE

Almost immediately after buying Hillcrest Memorial Park in 1977, Tom Flynn began to establish it as a special place for veterans... On Veterans Day, 1978, the sixtieth anniversary of the end of World War I, he established a six-acre section as the Garden of Valor for the burial of veterans, with monuments honoring veterans of World War I, World War II, and the Korean War... In 1980, on the 100th day of the Iranian Hostage Crisis (1979 to 1981), he directed the hoisting of 100 flags along the Avenue leading into the cemetery. One more flag was raised each day until the hostages were released on January 21, 1981, 444 days after they were taken.

Also known as: Avenue of Flags

Primary location: Hermitage United States