Flags pop up all over Main Beach

Visitors to Main Beach on Memorial Day may have noticed a plethora of American flags blanketing an area near the lifeguard tower.

Orange resident Juliana Orrick and her family had decided to honor veterans who died in war by placing hundreds of flags in rows on a patch of grass.

Orrick’s father served in the Korean War.

“We wanted to commemorate what Memorial Day is,” Orrick said by phone on Wednesday, adding that the observance should be more than “another barbecue day.”

Orrick, her husband, Randy, daughter Chloe, 11, son Josh, 17, and family friends spent about two hours placing the flags in the ground and left them up until sunset. She said they received several “thanks yous” and some passersby were “just about crying” with appreciation.

Laguna Beach marine safety Capt. Tom Trager spotted the flags as he arrived for work.

“They looked cool,” Trager said. “I had to look to see if it was someone I knew. There were several people taking photos.”

Laguna City Manager John Pietig said Thursday that he was unaware of the display and added that it was probably not legal because the sheer number of flags “prevents the use of the [public] property by the general public.”

“[But] we are generally supportive of [the American Legion] Post doing [similar patriotic acts] when they talk to us in advance,” Pietig added.

Orrick said she didn’t think to check with the city beforehand since erecting the flags was a last-minute decision.

Orrick had seen a similar arrangement years ago in Santa Barbara and thought the beach would be an ideal place for the flags.

She purchased them — most measuring 8-by-12 inches and a few measuring 2-by-3 feet — at a specialty store in the Inland Empire.

“A beach is a nice place to do it,” Orrick said. “We were originally going to go to Newport Beach but decided on Laguna.”

Orrick will keep the flags so as to repeat the gesture next year.