[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 6335]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        FLAG MAN LARRY ECKHARDT

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I was in Tazewell County--which is in the 
area of Pekin, in East Peoria, IL--last week at the Veterans 
Administration Commission.
  I talked to a number of vets from the Vietnam war and other 
conflicts. We talked about obvious questions: veterans' unemployment, 
what was happening with disability payments, education for veterans, 
topics that most vets are very concerned about. They face some pretty 
significant challenges, as we know.
  We promise these men and women that if they put up their hand and 
swear that they will risk their life for America, we swear we will be 
there when they come home. It is that basic. We have to keep our word. 
As a nation, we have a sacred pledge to take care of veterans who 
serve. I take it very seriously--I think both parties do--and we 
should.
  We also need to honor those who have lost their lives. Just a few 
weeks ago, we buried another soldier from that county. There was a huge 
turnout at the memorial service. One particular local resident was 
doing his part to honor our fallen heroes in an extraordinary way. I 
learned about him when I visited Tazewell County. He is from Little 
York, IL, and he is known as the Flag Man.
  Larry Eckhardt is not a veteran, and there are no servicemembers in 
his family. But in 2006, Larry Eckhardt attended a funeral for a 
soldier from his area who had died. He said, ``There aren't enough 
flags here.'' So on his own, Larry bought 150 American flags and 
started hauling them in his truck to military funerals all across my 
State. As he puts it, ``I just honestly don't believe there's any such 
thing as too many flags for a soldier.''
  Larry's inventory of 150 flags has grown to 2,200 flags, and he can 
line them up to 14 miles of a fallen soldier's final journey.
  Traveling in his old 1999 Ford van, stripped down to one seat to make 
room for all the flags, he has now graced more than 80 funerals from 
Wisconsin to Kentucky and Iowa to Indiana and certainly in his home 
State of Illinois. Last year, Larry drove 40,000 miles with his flags 
to these funerals. He covers all the costs out of his own pocket and a 
couple donations from friends. When asked why he does it, he simply 
says, ``It's my way of giving back.''
  Larry rarely uses the word ``I.'' He is quick to praise all the 
volunteers--often organized by veterans organizations--who help him 
stake the flags in the ground along the funeral procession routes. 
``Without them,'' he says, ``I couldn't get them all done.''
  In one instance over a long weekend, dozens of volunteers helped 
Larry install the 2,200 flags to honor a 23-year-old Army sergeant 
during his funeral. After the service, volunteers helped pack up the 
flags for the next stop. Volunteers ranged from kids as young as 3, 
assisting their parents, to an 83-year-old woman who wanted to help out 
in Orchardville, IL. When she was asked her reason for weathering the 
tough January Illinois cold to help, she said, ``We can only bake so 
many tuna casseroles.''
  This story is what America and the State of Illinois are all about. 
It is the common man, such as Larry Eckhardt, following his heart and 
taking the initiative to do something extraordinary for our fallen 
heroes, and it is about a community rising to the occasion to lend its 
support and honor those who deserve so much of our gratitude. Larry may 
have said it best when he humbly stated:

       This is my feeble attempt to say thank you to every soldier 
     who has ever served and fought to protect the freedoms that I 
     have.

  This speech on the floor of the Senate is my feeble attempt to say 
thanks to you, Larry, and the countless Americans just like you who 
step up and do their part to show our veterans how much their service 
means to each and every one of us. They embody the enduring spirit and 
values that make America great and they make me proud to serve in the 
Senate and humbled to represent my State of Illinois.
  Thank you, Larry, and thanks to all the other Americans who are doing 
their part to support our veterans and their families.

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