The HEALING FIELD OF HONOR 2025 with DAN ABEL from the Rotary Club of Winchester

Dan Abel of the Rotary Club of Winchester tells us about their beautiful fundraiser, the Healing Field of Honor and what's new for 2025!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well here on the Q one O two community microphone,
it is Dan Abel. He is a rotarian with the
Winchester Rotary Club and Dan, welcome to the show.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Thanks, thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
We are very excited about what's coming up. Every year,
I look forward to this so much because it's just
so a pass it on my way home. It's so beautiful,
the Healing Field of Honor, And this year it's presented
by Navy Federal Credit Union.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
YEP, fantastic. Yeah, this is our fifth year, Chris, and
eight hundred flags will be out there. Every flag tells
a story, which is why we need the community to
help us. But it starts the Thursday before Memorial Day.
And the reason we do the Thursday is because we
don't want to hose up the Friday before Memorial Day.
So come on on around six o'clock, the flags will
be arrayed. There's going to be a C seventeen flyover,
patriotic music. We're going to have a skydiver come in.

(00:45):
Also new this year, we're going to have a motorcycle
Memorial ride. They started four out of Harley Davidson. They
arrive as a ceremony begins, they post some flags everybody
that rides a motorcycle in and then we've got the stage,
we've got lights, we've got my microphone, and we've got chairs,
and so we said, let's just have a concert. So
Jimmy Lee is actually going to let folks sing along

(01:06):
with him until sunset, and then that'll be it for Thursday,
and then all week and long. Come on out, walk
among the eight hundred flags, read the stories on each
of these flags are all dedicated to heroes. And then Monday,
at three o'clock MOORI all day we'll be the closing ceremony,
a little more somber. We'll read the gold Star families,
ring a bell for them, and we'll have a patriotic

(01:26):
sing along as well, and then that'll finish off the
healing feel of honor.

Speaker 1 (01:29):
There's not a moment when you go into those flags
that you don't feel something. Just talking about it right now, look,
I've got goosebumps. I'm serious. There are some places where
you go, like the Vietnam Memorial right right right, you
just you feel something right, And I've always felt that
when you get those flags and you start wandering among them,
it's so beautiful. The wind starts whipping them up and

(01:50):
it's look, guys, if you've ever seen it, but you
haven't got out of your car. This is a year.
Get out of the car and go and you can
help make this happen.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
Yeah, Chris, every flag is going to be sponsored. And
however you define a hero in your life. It could
be a single parent that helped raise It could be
a nurse that got you through cancer, a first responder,
a family member that served in the military. You define
hero when you dedicate your flag. You tell us what's
special about that hero. We put a tag on that flag.
And Chris, one of the coolest duties out there is

(02:20):
the welcome tag because people come out and say, I've
got a flag for Uncle Joe. So we'll go in
the database. We'll find out what uncle Joe is. We
will walk you amongst those eight hundred flags to find
the flag for Uncle Joe. And those relatives want to
talk about uncle Joe. And that's what brings goosebumps out
because amongst eight hundred flags are saying went off to Normandy,
never came back. We don't know much about him. We're

(02:41):
trying to find out more. But where's uncle Joe's flag?

Speaker 1 (02:44):
Oh man, oh, that's so cool. If you're just joining us.
I'm talking with Dan Abel from the Rotary Club of
Winchester about the Healing Field of Honor that's coming. Dan
could you tell us why you guys do this. Well,
first of all, it's to bring the community together. This
is our fifth year. It's Memorial Day. Let's keep the
memories and Memorial Day, let's recognize heroes. But also it

(03:05):
also is a fundraiser for the community. The money all
gets turned back to the community. This year we pick
two beneficiaries, the Northern Shenandoah Valley Community Veterans Engagement Board.
That's a mouthful. Yeah, this is a connective tissue amongst
all the veterans servicing organizations to make sure there's no
gaps for veterans and their families, and so they're one
of the beneficiaries. The other one is the Winchester Fire

(03:27):
and Rescue Foundation. Volunteers that help put fires out. Gosh,
they can certainly use money. So both those organizations, they're
the ones that are going to get any of the
proceeds that we get from this event. Love it. It's
the Healing Field of Honor. And you might just think
of it as all those flags in front of Hanley
High School. Right, It's coming again and you can find
out all about it at Chrisandlriishow dot com. What is

(03:50):
your website where we could send people to go and
order a flag and all of that.

Speaker 2 (03:55):
Yeah, Healingfield Winchester dot com and new options this year.
Certainly if you want the whole flag dedicated and you
take the flag home, that's fifty dollars. If you've got
enough American flags, you can just adopt a flag for
twenty five bucks. We'll tag the flag with your hero.
It'll be in the field, we'll show you where it is,
but you take the tag home.

Speaker 1 (04:14):
That's great. You guys are amazing And once again a
giant shout out to the Rotary Club of Winchester because
you do so much good for our community and we
really appreciate all of you and all that you do.
So this is dan able with us today and Dan,
thank you so much for joining us.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
You bet Chris Flanks and hope to see everybody out
there