"This is the easy part," Mern Hafen commented as he busily supervised other Boy Scouts and troop leaders Saturday, May 19, at the Mesquite Cemetary.

As part of his Eagle Scout project with Boy Scout Troop #640, Hafen chose to install a cement base beside the gravestones of Veterans so that a 3' by 5' foot flag on an eight foot pole can be displayed. He wanted to complete the project in time for Memorial Day.

He had to plan the project and procure permission from all the families for the installation of the flag holders. "That was the hard part," Hafen commented. "I had to work with the City to get all the names and addresses of the families and then contact them."

Of the 120 Veteran grave sites, he planned to complete 80 of them for his project. The remaining 40 will be completed at a

later date by a different group of volunteers.

"I learned this can be a lot of hard work, but it's worth it. Hard work pays off," Hafen explained.

"I met a lot of families of the veterans and heard their stories. They are very appreciative of this project," he added.

Hafen first saw how another cemetery in Redmond, Utah, had installed a similar type of flag holder. "I saw them every Memorial Day when we went to my Grandma's house. They were pretty nice. I thought it would be a good project for us."

"Kokopelli Landscaping donated the use of an auger to make it easier to dig the holes. Chad Jensen got his Dad to donate the cement mixer to we could do that part easier," Hafen explained.

The American Legion will post flags at the grave sites during the Memorial Day weekend to pay respect to the veterans.