Florida city leaders and volunteers prepare cemetery for Memorial Day

BOYNTON BEACH, Flor. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Dozens of volunteers and city officials in Boynton Beach spent Friday morning preparing to pay tribute to our fallen heroes.

Around 50 volunteers from local businesses and city commissioners placed American flags on hundreds of graves. It took place at the Boynton Beach Memorial Park and Mausoleum, ahead of the Memorial Day holiday.

Workers were also there repainting areas of the cemetery as part of a beautification project.

It all leads up to a big ceremony the city is hosting this weekend. The event will take place this Sunday at the Boynton Beach Memorial Park.

"Some people come out for selfish reasons, selfish reasons in that they're coming out to do it for their father or their mother or their brothers that might be interred somewhere else...And yet they feel compelled to come out and do something and short of that, it's just such an altruistic gesture by the community and outpouring of love and you can't help but feel for it."

Jim Czizik, Boynton Beach

"It's not just about, you know, saying and recognizing Memorial Day. We don't really say happy Memorial Day. It's more of an acknowledgment, a day of acknowledgment. I think what we're doing here is action... We're not just saying, you know, oh, we remember our veterans, we remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. The whole community here is rounded up and we're putting in the work and we're showing through action our gratitude."

Thomas Turkin, Boynton Beach Commissioner