Though unseasonably cool temperatures remain in the Chicago area, the unofficial start to summer has arrived with Memorial Day weekend, and one hardware store chain is holding a nationwide event in honor of the holiday.
While Memorial Day is a holiday honoring fallen U.S. servicemembers, Ace Hardware is also honoring American veterans this weekend with a "One Million Flag Giveaway" event.
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WATCH HEREOn Saturday, the retailer is partnering with Veterans of Foreign Wars to give out one million American flags ahead of Monday's Memorial Day holiday.
Ace Hardware said customers will get one free 8-by-12-inch American flag at participating stores while supplies last. For each free flag distributed, another flag will be donated to the VFW for placement on veterans’ graves.
A guide of where to find local Ace Hardware stores can be found here.
“Ace is proud to support this important initiative and offer American flags to both our customers and the VFW in remembrance of those who gave their lives in service,” Ace Hardware's chief marketing officer Kim Lefko said. “With our stores nationwide, this is a special opportunity for Ace, our customers, and our team members to come together and honor the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.”
“We are grateful to work alongside Ace to remember and honor those who have fallen in service to our nation,” VFW national commander Al Lipphardt, a Vietnam War veteran, said.
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Lipphardt said the event helps honor soldiers who died in conflicts, like Lewis Sloan of East Point, Georgia; Kenneth Adams of Santa Clara, California; Philip Adams of Croton Falls, New York; Robert Waddell of Batavia, Ohio; and Rodney Loatman of Newark, New Jersey — who all died in the Vietnam War.
"These men served under my command when they paid the ultimate price for freedom, and this initiative ensures their service, and all who gave their full measure of devotion, will never be forgotten," Lipphardt added.
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SIGN UP According to the U.S. National Archives, more than 58,200 U.S. service members died in the Vietnam War, a long conflict between communist North Vietnam, supported by the Soviet Union and China, and non-communist South Vietnam, supported by the U.S. and allies.
