U.S. Army soldiers honored the nation’s fallen service members by placing American flags at each headstone at Arlington National Cemetery for the annual “Flags In” tradition ahead of Memorial Day.
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The Old Guard, the Army’s official ceremonial unit, placed flags on more than 228,000 headstones and 7,000 niche rows at Arlington, and another 14,000 flags at the Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery.
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According to Arlington’s official description, the “Flags In” tradition has been carried out every year since 1948.
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It takes about four hours to place the flags, which also go in front of the memorials and the headstones on Chaplains Hill and at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
#flagsin2016 is underway as #USArmy Soldiers from @TheOldGuard enter @ArlingtonNatl pic.twitter.com/4XoLwSHtq4
— The Old Guard (@USArmyOldGuard) May 26, 2016
The flags will remain over the weekend, and will be removed after Memorial Day before the sites open to the public.
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