The public can help re-establish Prospect Hill Cemetery's Afghanistan War Flag Memorial on Saturday.

The event is at 9 a.m. at the cemetery at 700 N. George St. in North York.

Volunteers -- including Gold Star families who lost loved ones in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars -- will help place miniature American flags on cemetery grounds in memory of soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice.

"People can observe or help place flags," said Jack Sommer, the cemetery's managing partner. "It's great when people come to the (event) or if they want to help out. It shows support for the flags and the soldiers who served our country."

On Saturday, 1,936 flags will be placed to represent the number of American soldiers who have died in Afghanistan.

Sommer said that 286 of those flags honor soldiers from Pennsylvania. The memories of those soldiers also will be marked by Pennsylvania flags, Sommer said.

Banner for Zerbe: During Saturday's event a banner featuring U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Daniel Zerbe will be unveiled for the cemetery's Fallen Hero Banner display.

The display -- which has 19 other banners -- honors soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan and were either York County residents, buried in the county or have relatives living in the county.

Zerbe, 28, was among 30 armed services personnel to die in an Aug. 6, 2011, helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan. He was a 2001 graduate of Red Lion Area Senior High School.

Moments before the flag memorial event begins, the Patriot Guard Riders will escort a Heffner Funeral Home and Crematory vehicle containing the flags from Northgate Shopping Center, at 1500 N. George St., to the cemetery.

The York County Sheriff's Office will guide the procession.

The cemetery's flag memorial program began in 2005 and previously included honor ceremonies for U.S. soldiers who died in Iraq.

Richanda Knaub, Sommer's executive assistant, said the annual event offers comfort and an ongoing feeling of closure to the families who lost loved ones in the war. The cemetery has become known as "the place with flags and banners," she said.

"They are honored by the fact that those who have given so much for us are being recognized," Knaub added. "It's amazing how the community responds to it."

-- Reach Eyana Adah McMillan at 505-5438 or emcmillan@yorkdis patch.com.