Canton man reflects on Operation Flags for Vets
By Guest
SFC Jared Monti’s truck, made famous by Lee Brice’s hit song, is outfitted with flags during a ceremony at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne. (Photo courtesy of Rich Trotto)
By Rich Trotto
The planting of American flags at the graves of veterans at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne takes a lot of motivated people. Paul Monti passed away on August 26, 2022, at the age of 76, and his passion was Operation Flags for Vets.
Paul’s son Jared Monti was killed in action in Afghanistan on June 21, 2006, after his third attempt to move a wounded soldier out of the field of fire. Jared was buried at the Bourne Cemetery and sparked his father’s passion to honor the veterans by planting flags before Memorial and Veterans Days and removing them afterwards. It began on Memorial Day in 2011. It is a large cemetery and when I joined the ranks of the motivated in 2014, about 57,000 flags were planted. Then it grew to 62,000 flags, then 66,000, and now it is well over 70,000. Motorcycles and trucks and cars fill the cemetery parking areas as well as the access road.
Canton’s own longtime Veterans Agent Tony Andreotti also passed away this year on April 3. He was buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery with Taps and a rifle salute and, of course, our new veterans agent, Arafat Knight, was there organizing the solemn event. For the past several years, the American Legion Riders of Post 24 have sponsored an annual motorcycle veterans’ fundraising ride, and on a beautiful day in September, the Riders gathered for the inaugural Tony Andreotti Memorial Motorcycle Run, which was an enjoyable 35-mile ride that ended back at the post for a cookout and raffles. You can watch a recap of the event courtesy of Canton Community TV. Tony’s son Dave speaks in the video.
In addition to Operation Flags for Vets, Paul Monti — who was a longtime Stoughton High School science teacher — started the SFC Jared Monti Charitable Foundation and President Barack Obama posthumously honored Jared with the Medal of Honor. After a few years of riding to the events I was amazed to read that Paul was the inspiration for the very moving hit song “I Drive Your Truck” by Lee Brice. Songwriter Connie Harrington was listening to a radio interview when Paul was asked how he remembers his son. He replied, “I drive his truck.”
Inspired by Paul’s story, Harrington and two other songwriters would go on to pen the song that ultimately rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts and earned Lee Brice a Grammy nomination and Song of the Year awards from the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
The video for “I Drive Your Truck” was also nominated for an ACM award and became a huge hit as well, amassing over 50 million views. Check it out on YouTube and hold onto your hats.
Pictured above is a photo of Jared Monti’s actual truck made famous by Lee Brice’s hit song. Behind every flag planted in Bourne and Boston and Canton and the Arlington National Cemetery there is a family and a story.
See this week’s Canton Citizen for more Veterans Day coverage, including a listing of Canton veterans who have received military honors funerals, a tribute to Canton’s Forgotten Soldier by Richard T. Carrera and more. Click here to order your subscription today.
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