The annual 150th National Memorial Day Observance to honor America’s fallen military service members is scheduled for Monday, May 28, at Arlington National Cemetery.
Over 900 members of The Old Guard placed flags in front of 228,000 headstones and at the bottom of about 7,000 niche rows in the cemetery’s Columbarium Courts and the Niche Wall.
Each flag must be centered and placed in a specific spot, exactly one foot in front of each headstone. To honor those who are cremated, flags are placed inside the Columbarium and along niche walls as a part of the annual “Flags In” ceremony ahead of Memorial Day. In total, 243,000 flags covered the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery.
On May 28, the federal holiday, the U.S. Army Military District of Washington conducts a presidential armed forces full honor wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, to be followed by an observance program hosted by the Defense Department in Arlington’s Memorial Amphitheater.
The U.S. Army Military District of Washington will conduct a Presidential Armed Forces Full Honor Wreath-Laying Ceremony at 11 a.m. at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, to be followed by an observance program hosted by the Department of Defense in Arlington’s Memorial Amphitheater. A prelude by the United States Navy Band will begin in the amphitheater at 10:30 a.m.