Angels for Veterans Volunteers Place Flags for Memorial Day

Angels for Veterans Moderator Angela Kunz and group member Reilly Guy ensured that veterans who are interred at the Fair Lawn Memorial Cemetery & Mausoleum would be remembered on Memorial Day. These Academy of the Holy Angels volunteers worked with the Fair Lawn Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to place an American flag on every veteran’s grave.

“Between children and adults, there were about 50 people, each placing about two bundles of flags,” Kunz explained, estimating that each volunteer placed 20 to 30 flags. “I know we went through five boxes of flags. You have to scrape off the grave markers to see if they are vets, so it can take a while.”

Volunteer Reilly Guy, a member of AHA’s Class of 2023, added, “I believe it’s important to recognize and pay respects to those who risked their lives and fought for their country. I think this is a project everyone should consider taking part in because we can appreciate the lives of those who aren’t here to appreciate it themselves.

Guy, a Fair Lawn resident, said Memorial Day is about honoring those who fought for a bigger cause.

“I have multiple family members and friends who are involved in different aspects of the military and who do work for veterans, and I’ve seen their bravery through the experiences they’ve encountered,” she said.

Although Guy does not plan to pursue a career in the military, she does see herself continuing to pay tribute to veterans who have dedicated their lives to the USA.

In early 2020, AHA’s Angels for Veterans group received a 50-star field panel as a thank you gift from the 114th Infantry of the New Jersey Army National Guard. The regiment signed the field panel while they were serving in Qatar in 2019, and sent it to AHA for the school community’s support of Adopt-a-Soldier Platoon. AaSP, a volunteer-run non-profit based in Fair Lawn, uses donations to send healthy snacks, coffee, exercise kits, and other items to deployed troops. The Angels, including Angels for Veterans and the basketball teams, raised funds for AaSP via a bake sale, a Jeans Pass (dress down day), and a basketball tournament.

Founded by the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1879, the Academy of the Holy Angels is the oldest private girls’ school in Bergen County. While AHA is steeped in Catholic tradition, this prestigious high school serves young women from a broad spectrum of cultural and religious backgrounds. Over time, thousands of women have passed through AHA’s portals. Many go on to study at some of the nation’s best universities, earning high-ranking positions in medicine, government, law, education, public service, business, arts, and athletics. The Academy’s current leaders continue to further the SSND mission to provide each student with the tools she needs to reach the fullness of her potential—spiritually, intellectually, socially, and physically, by offering a first-rate education in a nurturing environment where equal importance is placed on academic excellence, character development, moral integrity, and service to others.