Man Behind ‘Flags of Honor’

The Ohio Flags of Honor swayed in the breeze for the final day in Zanesville.

The tribute to the fallen service members of Ohio was presented for the ninth time in the Y-City on Friday and the more than 750 flags have flown all weekend at Zane Landing Park. President of the organization ‘Gino’ Zimmer has been spearheading the traveling memorial since he lost his own son during the War on Terror.

“My son more or less was the founder of this, I call it,” said Zimmer. “It was his death on Memorial Day of 04′ that changed my life forever and I didn’t know what to do and there was somebody that talked about an idea like this and I loved it so I grabbed hold and never let go.”

Zimmer feels that his efforts to honor those lost is important work and he said his son wouldn’t want individual remembrance, because he wasn’t alone in his fight for this country.

“He wasn’t the kind of man I didn’t think that wanted a statue in a field so I figured I could lump him in there and he would take it,” said Zimmer. “So now that he’s with all his comrades he’s just part of the whole, ’cause that’s how he was. Most military personnel are that way. They know they didn’t do it themselves. ”

The flags can be seen in 13 cities in Ohio this year, and Zimmer has traveled to up to 20 cities in past years. Zimmer will travel to Grove City for the next flag presentation on June 17.