As the sun peeked over the horizon this morning, nearly 1,500 shadows danced across Arlington National Cemetery’s 639 acres as soldiers placed flags at each grave, including of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Starting at 6 a.m., members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, the Army’s oldest active-duty infantry unit — known as the “Old Guard” — began the solemn task of placing flags at the base of approximately 260,000 headstones as part of their annual “Flags In” tradition, held just before Memorial Day.
It takes about four hours to place all 260,000 flags. The flags will be removed after the holiday.
Arlington National Cemetery dates back to the Civil War and is the final resting place for nearly 400,000 veterans and their dependents. The cemetery conducts about 27-30 funerals a day and hosts over 3,000 ceremonies a year — and it in the midst of a major expansion project.
Without the expansion, the cemetery was expected to reach capacity by 2041. The addition of 50 acres is expected to allow it to accommodate burials through the early 2060s.
A ceremony commemorating the fallen men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces will take place on Monday, May 27, at 11 a.m. in the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery.
The annual event is free and open to the public. Seating in the theater is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Also planned this weekend is a “Flowers of Remembrance Day” event on Sunday, in which members of the public are invited to bring flowers to place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
More, below, from a cemetery press release.
Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) is honored to host the third Flowers of Remembrance Day at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Sunday, May 26, 2024, from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Members of the public are invited to place a flower at the Tomb in honor of the Unknown Soldiers and all those who have served and sacrificed for the United States.
Flowers of Remembrance Day pays homage to the first official, national Decoration Day, now known as Memorial Day. This ceremony first took place at Arlington National Cemetery on May 30, 1868, to honor U.S. service members who died in the Civil War. ANC historians will also conduct a public program in the outdoor bowl of Memorial Amphitheater, beginning at 10 a.m. At 10:30 a.m., they will lead an optional walking tour to the James Tanner Amphitheater, the Tomb of the Civil War Unknowns and other locations related to the official Decoration Day commemoration at ANC.
