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He started this Memorial Day tradition in 2004 to honor his father. It has grown to now pay tribute to hundreds of veterans

Ken Rucci Sr., who couldn't serve in the military because of back issues, plants as many as 500 flags a year in SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Springfield, Delaware County, to honor those who did.

Ken Rucci Sr., 70, of Westbrook Park, started in 2004 placing flags on the grave of his father, Paul Rucci, a World War II Navy veteran, and a few other relatives. It helped him deal with the loss of his father who had passed away in the fall of 2003. He now places approximately 500 flags on the graves of veterans at SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Springfield, Delaware County. Here, he places a hand on his father's grave Friday.
Ken Rucci Sr., 70, of Westbrook Park, started in 2004 placing flags on the grave of his father, Paul Rucci, a World War II Navy veteran, and a few other relatives. It helped him deal with the loss of his father who had passed away in the fall of 2003. He now places approximately 500 flags on the graves of veterans at SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Springfield, Delaware County. Here, he places a hand on his father's grave Friday.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer

It started in May 2004 with just six flags, a simple task for Ken Rucci Sr. to honor his father, Paul, a World War II Navy veteran who had died the previous fall, and a handful of other relatives buried at SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Springfield, Delaware County.

Twenty years later, Rucci’s annual Memorial Day holiday ritual has grown to involve placing as many as 500 flags throughout the cemetery over two days to honor veterans he didn’t even know. He quietly leaves behind crisp, new flags to flap in the wind in tribute to those who served and to let them know they are not forgotten.

The tradition was inspired by the presentation of a military honor flag to the family at his father’s funeral, and born out of grief of losing a parent and a feeling of guilt, he said. Rucci had not been able to serve in the military due to back issues. Decorating graves for each Memorial Day became his way to give thanks to those who did.

Consider it a flag-bearing tour of duty of two decades and counting.

“When my dad passed away, I just wanted to make sure he had a flag on his grave. ... As time went by I just wanted to serve my country and help these [veterans] out by putting flags out,” Rucci said. “I got tired of coming out here and not seeing it getting done. There are so many placards [grave flag holders] that are falling over, and nobody seems to want to fix them. I don’t like that.”

Rucci, 70 and of Westbrook Park near Springfield, realizes he can’t do the entire cemetery; he sticks to the sections where his relatives have been buried. But he also provides support for the relatives of other veterans who have chance encounters with him in the cemetery and ask for a flag or a new flag holder.

For them, Rucci plays the role of good Samaritan, therapist, and handyman.