(WSIL) 鈥� A man from central Illinois has earned the title 鈥淭he Flagman鈥� after years of placing U.S. flags throughout 14 states for fallen heroes.听
Larry Eckhardt has planted more than 519,000 flags as far west as Nebraska and as far east as Ohio. He has gone as far north as Minnesota and as far south as Arkansas.听
Eckhardt is from the village of Little York in Warren County in northwest Illinois. Fewer聽than 400 people live in the village which is 25 miles east of Galesburg.听
The man who has been giving back to fallen soldiers, police officers, and firefighters for years is now fighting two battles of his own.听
Eckhardt was diagnosed with stage 2 thyroid cancer in 2017. He is currently in remission, but not before the aggressive cancer required major surgery to his vocal cords.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why my voice is a little bit softer than what it used to be,鈥� Eckhardt said in a phone interview.听
Last month Eckhardt was coming back from the funeral of Fulton County Deputy Troy Chisum, when his rear tire blew on his van that was carrying thousands of flags.听
鈥淭he trailer jackknifed and we ended up in the ditch with a totaled out trailer and a messed up van,鈥� Eckhardt said. 鈥淚t was a rather interesting ride to say the least. Sliding down the highway sideways.鈥�
Eckhardt was inside the van by himself when the accident happened.听
鈥淭he van only has one seat,鈥� Eckhardt said. 鈥淭he rest of it is flags. It tends to wake you up to the fact you hope somebody upstairs is watching out for you.鈥�
No flags were damaged in the accidents but the trailer is a total loss.听
鈥淟uckily there was a construction worker that stopped by and put the fire out before it got too carried away,鈥� Eckhardt said.听
Eckhardt said he thinks he will have his van back in two weeks, but it鈥檚 the bill he鈥檚 worried about.听
鈥淢y caregiver started the GoFundMe because to be truthful with our health issues the last couple of years, there is no way I can afford to get both of them back on the road,鈥� Eckhardt said.听
Eckhardt started his flag journey in retirement.听
He worked for International Harvester in East Moline for 25 years building combines.听
Over the years, Eckhardt acquired more than 3,800 flags through donations.听
He said the total cost for the flag and the pole is $11.听
Eckhardt said he found his inspiration to plant flags after attending a local funeral for a service member but was disappointed with the small number of flags.听
鈥淚 looked around and I thought, well there isn鈥檛 that many flags, this is wrong because they died and gave their life for that flag and that flag should protect them,鈥� Eckhardt said. 鈥淯nfortunately anymore it seems like we鈥檝e done more police officers than we have military.鈥�
Back in March, for Sgt. Holli Bolinski who died in a non-combat accident across seas.听
Right now Eckhardt doesn鈥檛 have his van or trailer to cart around the flags, but that wouldn鈥檛 stop him if the flags were needed.听
鈥淚f there was a need for the flags, we would make sure they would get there one way or another,鈥� Eckhardt said.听
Eckhardt said that neither cancer, nor a damaged van and trailer can make The Flagman forget how blessed he is.听
鈥淚t鈥檚 slight phenomenal,鈥� Eckhardt said laughing. 鈥淲e will be back on the road one way or another.鈥�
Eckhardt doesn鈥檛 place flags throughout a community by himself, volunteers come from near and far to help line the entire route from the funeral home to the church to the cemetery.听
鈥淲e will be back on the road one way or another,鈥� Eckhardt said. 鈥淚 stop and think about it that I get to meet the best of the best,鈥� Eckhardt said.听
Eckhardt said he goes back to the doctor next month for a check-up on his cancer.听
As for the trailer and the van, Eckhardt needs $8,000 dollars to get back on the road again.听
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