Download the all-new Republic app:

Published 03:05 IST, May 22nd 2020

"Flags-In" ceremony held ahead of Memorial Day

Soldiers with the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as the Old Guard, spent Thursday placing a small American flag at each gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day.

Follow: Google News Icon
  • share
null | Image: self
Advertisement

Soldiers with the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as the Old Guard, spent Thursday placing a small American flag at each gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day.

The tradition is known as "flags-in," and it has been held annually since to honor the nation's fallen warriors since the Army named the Old Guard as its official ceremonial unit in 1948.

Advertisement

According to Arlington National Cemetery, a small American flag is placed in front of more than 228,000 headstones and at other key sites.

Soldiers insert each flag into the ground exactly one boot length from the headstone's base.

Advertisement

The cemetery says it is open only to those holding a "family pass" during the Memorial Day weekend.

The flags will be removed after Memorial Day, before the cemetery opens to the public.

Advertisement

Image Source: Representative/Unsplash

03:05 IST, May 22nd 2020