There are probably no more poignant and powerful Memorial Day ceremonies meant to remember and honor the patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our freedom, our Democracy and our nation than those taking place today at the hallowed rolling hills of the Arlington National Cemetery.
Today, President Biden will lay a “national” wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and will then deliver the Memorial Day Address at the 154th National Memorial Day Observance at Memorial Amphitheater at the Cemetery, where Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will host the Department of Defense observance program. A prelude by the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” will take place in there. Several other military and government organizations will also conduct memorial services and memorials at the cemetery.
Just before Memorial Day, in a decades-old, revered tradition, soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) along with service members from the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Coast Guard, placed U.S. flags at every gravesite at Arlington Ccemetery, as part of a tradition called “Flags In.” That is one American flag in front of, and centered, at each of more than 280,000 headstones.
In addition, Old Guard Soldiers place an American flag at the bottom of about 7,000 niche rows in the cemetery’s Columbarium Courts and Niche Wall to honor the more than 400,000 interred there.
I know most Americans will agree with Col. Mike Binetti, Arlington National Cemetery Chief of Staff, when he says:
Every single headstone here at Arlington tells a story and if they could speak, the words would echo from hillside to hillside…There is a common thread of shared sacrifice and service which is what makes our nation great.
Below is a video of “Flags In” 2022 followed by some photos, courtesy of Arlington National Cemetery.
