Flags for the Fallen: Remembering Our Heroes

The time-honored tradition of “Flags In” at Arlington National Cemetery was held Thursday, May 27.

Soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) were joined by service members from the U.S. Marine Corps Ceremonial and Guard Company, U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard, U.S. Air Force Honor Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard in placing American flags on the gravesites of all who rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

“Flags In” has been conducted annually since the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) was designated as the Army’s official ceremonial unit in 1948.

Flags are placed one foot in front and centered before each headstone in the cemetery. Flags are also placed at the Tomb of the Unknowns by the Tomb Sentinels and at each of the cemetery’s columbarium courts.

It took approximately three hours to place the more than 250,000 flags.

While no volunteers are needed to assist the Old Guard with this sacred duty, visitors are welcome to come and pay their respects during this event.

All flags will be removed on Tuesday, June 1 before the cemetery opens to the public.

The annual National Memorial Day Observance will take place at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, May 31, 2010. The ceremony is free and open to the public.

The Arlington National Cemetery is the second-largest national cemetery in the United States. The Cemetery conducts approximately 6,900 burials each year.

"No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his well-being, to risk his body, to risk his life, in a great cause." --Theodore Roosevelt