Gazing out over a field of flags, Tom Campbell always gets emotional. "It's breathtaking to me," he said of the display he helps to install yearly at Masonic Village in honor of Veterans Day. "It's an honor to be part of the program and give something back."

The display - called the Massing of the Colors - features more than 7,000 flags. Some are American flags and others are Pennsylvania state flags, representing fallen military members from the state. The flags serve as a memorial to all military service members who have died in combat since the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

The display will be open to the public in Veterans Grove on the campus of Masonic Village, 1 Masonic Drive, Elizabethtown, from Saturday, Nov. 4, through Monday, Nov. 13. The Veterans Grove is located just past the main entrance along Masonic Drive, on the left.

People are invited to walk through and view the display at their leisure, and the site will be lit for nighttime viewing.

"When you see the display at night, it's really something," Campbell said, noting that tower lights are used to illuminate the field. "I think seeing it at night is the most impressive view."

The Massing of the Colors is a project of the National Sojourners - Harrisburg Chapter 76. The organization created the memorial in 2004 and has displayed the flags as Masonic Village since 2011. Volunteers from Masonic Village, the Sojourners and the community help to set up the flags.

"When this display first started at the Zembo Shrine in Harrisburg, it was much smaller," noted Campbell, who is a Vietnam veteran, a member of the Sojourners and chair of the Massing of the Colors. "When I took over in 2011, I took the ball and ran with it."

The Sojourners create a similar display at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery in Annville for Memorial Day, and Campbell noted that both that project and the one in Elizabethtown require teamwork to accomplish.

"I don't do this on my own," he said, explaining the project begins each year with people laying out a grid a few days before the installation of the flags so volunteers know where to place them. "There are so many volunteers who assist along the way to make this happen."

Campbell said no matter how many times he's seen the display, it always makes an impact. "I like to say to people, 'When you look over that field, and you see those flags waving, it's not the wind blowing them," he said. "'It's the veteran waving back to you.'"