photo credit: Courtesy of Brody Hansel
The Sonoma County Honor Field on Wing and Barrel Ranch land.

Driving on Highway 37 near the Sonoma/Solano county line in the last week, you may have noticed hundreds of American flags filling an adjacent field.

That is the Sonoma County Honor Field and it was created by a local 17-year-old.

Brody Hansel says he got the idea from a similar honor field he visited as a child. 

“My grandparents live in Merced,” Hansel told KRCB News on Monday evening. “That's where my mom grew up. My grandpa's birthday actually falls on Veteran's Day—he's a Vietnam vet—so we used to go out there every year for his birthday and they had a field of a thousand flags or more.

Hansel, a senior at Santa Rosa's Cardinal Newman High School, says he's been organizing the project for months...but work started in earnest about 2 weeks ago. Hansel says family friend Jim Dickey did the necessary surveying.

He maps out the field perfectly, he spray paints it,” Hansel said. “Then me and my high school buddies, we go out there with a thousand rebar and we pile drive them into the ground. So that's the first step.”

Then the flags, mounted on PVC pipe, go over the rebar. 

“The last thing we do, which is pretty precise and it takes a while, is we tag all of the flags in a specific order,” Hansel said. “And by doing that, each flag then represents someone who is active military, a veteran active first responder, or a retired first responder.”

Hansel said the project is important to him to express gratitude.

photo credit: Courtesy of Brody Hansel
Brody Hansel, third from right, and his volunteer crew.

“[And] the idea of recognizing our heroes and doing a better job of it, especially because we live in an area where we were really affected by the fires, so first responders did a lot to help that.”

Hansel also thanks his fellow classmates and friends for helping him make his vision for a local honor field become reality.

“I just want to thank everyone who supports me on this and thank all of our heroes who sacrificed their lives for us and put their lives on the line,” Hansel said. 

The Honor Field will be on display through the weekend, with closing ceremonies taking place on Sunday, Nov. 16. from 11 to 2 pm.