DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — As Memorial Day approaches, three men in Decatur are on a mission protecting the red, white and blue.

They’ve been doing it every year since a man was caught stealing a flag four years ago. Now, their goal is safeguarding old glory. They aren’t veterans, but they are part of a group called the Patriot Guard Riders who shows up at military funerals and supports other military events.

At Graceland Cemetery, they’ll be enforcing a dawn to dusk rule from Friday until Tuesday, May 27. That means no one is allowed on the property while it’s dark. It’s because they have about two hundred American flags in the area.

But these aren’t your typical American flags you’d hang outside your house. These flags are casket flags. It’s a United States flag that goes over the casket of a veteran to honor their memory and service.

“That’s sad that we have to sit out in the cemetery in the middle of night to do it, but it is what it is,” said Mike Tarczan, Illinois Patriot Guard Riders member. “A lot of these veterans that’s buried out here are combat veterans. They’ve been gone for a long time and no longer have family anymore, so we really got to be their family.”

He said each casket flag is worth $1,000. Tarczan said they’ll be outside each day from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m.