Arlington National Cemetery is raising flags in the Memorial Amphitheater in preparation for the annual Memorial Day ceremony and observance May 31. Originally called Decoration Day, Memorial Day is a national day of remembrance honoring members of the military who died in service to the nation.
“We have been in your shoes. So we’ve clearly walked in the shoes that you wear today. In the military we often call ourselves a band of brothers and sisters. And the reason we do that is because we take care of one another. And we dare to go forward into harm’s way to preserve this nation’s treasure, and that is our freedom,” Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Ramón “CZ” Colón-López said.
Soldiers assigned to the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as “The Old Guard,” place American flags at headstones in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., May 27, 2021. The tradition, known as “Flags In,” is held annually prior to Memorial Day to honor the nation’s fallen veterans.A coast guardsman assists in placing over 265,000 U.S. flags at every gravesite, columbarium court column, and niche wall column as part of Flags-In at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, May 27, 2021.
For more than 50 years, soldiers from The Old Guard have honored our nation’s fallen military heroes by placing U.S. flags at the gravesites of service members buried at both Arlington National Cemetery and the U.S. Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery just prior to the Memorial Day weekend. For the first time in 20 years, members from the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Coast Guard placed flags alongside soldiers from The Old Guard across the 639 acres of Arlington National Cemetery.
(U.S. Army photos by Elizabeth Fraser / Arlington National Cemetery / released)Soldiers from the U.S. Army 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), along with service members from all armed forces service branches, place over 265,000 U.S. flags at every gravesite, columbarium court column, and niche wall column as part of Flags-In at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, May 27, 2021.
For more than 50 years, soldiers from The Old Guard have honored our nation’s fallen military heroes by placing U.S. flags at the gravesites of service members buried at both Arlington National Cemetery and the U.S. Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery just prior to the Memorial Day weekend. For the first time in 20 years, members from the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Coast Guard placed flags alongside soldiers from The Old Guard across the 639 acres of Arlington National Cemetery.
(U.S. Army photos by Elizabeth Fraser / Arlington National Cemetery / released)
