Chaplains gather for Flags In

Photo By Damien Salas | Chaplains and chaplain assistants place American flags at grave sites in Arlington National Cemetery during Flags In May 21, 2015. In a matter of hours, chaplains and chaplain assistants from across the Military District of Washington placed hundreds of flags along Chaplains Hill as part of the pre-Memorial Day annual event led by the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard). The Old Guard has led the placement of American flags at hundreds of thousands of ANC gravesites since 1948. (Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall PAO photo by Damien Salas)  

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES

05.21.2015

Story by Julia LeDoux 

Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall

WASHINGTON - Chaplains and chaplain assistants from across the Military District of Washington gathered May 21 at Chaplains Hill, where they honored the fallen buried in Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery by placing flags at their gravesites just prior to Memorial Day weekend in a tradition known as Flags In.

“It’s just respect for their sacrifice,” said Chap. (Lt. Col.) Allen Staley, who serves at Fort Belvoir, Va. “It’s real humbling to be here.”

The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) has conducted Flags In since The Old Guard was designated as the Army’s official ceremonial unit in 1948, according to Arlington National Cemetery’s website. Army chaplains place flags in front of the four memorials and the headstones in Section 2.

“It’s actually an honor to do this,” said Chaplain Assistant Sgt. Betty Midgette.

The memorials honor the chaplains killed in World War I; Protestant chaplains killed in World Wars I and II; Catholic chaplains killed in World War II, Korea and Vietnam; and Jewish chaplains killed while on active duty.

“It’s about remembering, but it’s also about being grateful for the Soldiers who have gone before us,” said Chap. (Maj.) Luis Kruger, regimental chaplain for The Old Guard.

During Flags In, Soldiers place flags in front of more than 228,000 headstones and at the bottom of about 7,000 niche rows in the cemetery’s Columbarium Courts and the Niche Wall. Tomb Sentinels also place flags at the gravesites of the unknown interred at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

All the flags are removed after Memorial Day.

• Date Taken: 05.21.2015
• Date Posted: 05.28.2015 17:57
• Story ID: 164849
• Location: ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, VIRGINIA, US