By Roscoe Barnes III
The Natchez Democrat
Published Friday, May 2, 2025
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| Karla Brown of Downtown Karla Brown, left, is pictured here with her friend and volunteer Allene Kaiser, who helps with Brown's annual Memorial Day project. (Photo courtesy of Karla Brown) Click on image to enlarge. |
NATCHEZ, Miss. -- When Karla Brown goes out this year to honor
the deceased U.S. service members on Memorial Day, she will keep a promise she
made years ago to G. Mark LaFrancis, who was president of the Home with Heroes
Foundation Inc.
Brown did not have flowers to place on the graves of all
of the service members, but LaFrancis asked her to remember one in particular.
“He donated $100, and he asked me to make sure we placed
a flower on the grave of Wilson Brown, who was African American, and the only
Medal of Honor recipient buried in the Natchez National Cemetery,” Brown
recalled. “Each year we place two roses on his grave.”
LaFrancis died in June 2024 following a long battle with
cancer. This year, Brown and her volunteers will honor him by placing a flower
on his grave.
LaFrancis was a retired veteran of the military. He
served a total of 23 years in the Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force
Reserve. He was also director of the Miss-Lou Military Museum and Veterans Welcome/Information
Center.
Memorial Day will be observed on Monday, May 26, and as the
day approaches, Brown is seeking volunteer help -- and donation of flowers.
Brown is known for her work through Downtown Karla Brown.
“Last year we had
eight buckets of flowers, which was a record,” Brown said, noting her volunteer
project “gets bigger each year.” Last year, they bought out the flowers at
Walmart in Natchez and Vidalia and grocery stores, she said. They want to do
the same this year.
She also had about a dozen volunteers, she said.
When the Flower Station learned of Brown’s needs last
year, the business quickly donated flowers for the cause, Brown said. Moreton’s
Flowerland also pitched in to help. Brown said she was extremely grateful to these
businesses.
Brown typically purchases all of the flowers that she can
afford and place them in a bucket of water one day before Memorial Day. Early the
next day, she visits the cemetery where she and her volunteers place one flower
in front of the graves of the military service members.
While she would love to honor all of the service members
with a flower, she usually does not have enough to go around, she said. Even so,
she is mindful to cover the graves of men and women who served in all of the
wars -- and all branches of the military, she said.
Brown said she moved to Natchez 13 years ago, and for the
last 12 years, she has been placing flowers on the graves of U.S. service
members. Natchez is the first place she has lived that has a national cemetery,
she said.
“Memorial Day is about our fallen soldiers,” she said. “We
honor them because of their sacrifice and because we’re living in a free
country.”
Placing flowers on the graves is an act of reverence and
something that should not be rushed, Brown said. She asks her volunteers to
take a flower, stand in front of the grave, reflect and say, “Thank you.”
“I ask them to really think about what these people did and
to give some reverence,” she said. “We take our time and think about their
service to our nation. I really encourage people to do that.”
As in previous years, Brown is asking all volunteers to
meet her at the Natchez National Cemetery at 6:30 a.m. She said they can finish
in about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the amount of help she has. Afterwards,
they will go to breakfast.
Anyone interested in assisting Brown as a volunteer or
who wishes to make a donation for the purchase of flowers may contact her at
907-540-0001.
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