Boy Scouts with Troop 29 helped raise more than 400 flags in Arlington Cemetery to mark Memorial Day this year.
Every year (except last year), Boy Scouts and other parishioners get up early in the morning to honor flags on the sidewalks of the local cemetery to honor those who died in military service.
“We only respect those who fought for our freedom to do so,” said Gregory Vaughn, a parent of Arlington’s Boys Scouts of America Troop 92.
“It is important to remember those who fell and to teach these boys how to be young men and serve their community and country,” said Bob Beam, Master Scout for the group.
Beam said the Boy Scouts love to get together for a project.
“They like the camaraderie, they just hang out and have fun digging all the holes,” he said.
Boy Scouts said they enjoyed going out and doing something for their community.
“That’s a good thing,” said Troop 92 Scout Daniel Dunn.
“I just wanted to get out there to be part of the Boy Scout Troop and help the community,” said Troop 92 Scout Carson Raz.
Many of the volunteers who came out during Memorial Day had family members who were veterans or currently in the military.
“We have a family that has served, so it is important to us to fly these flags,” said mother Nicole Donohue.
For the scout troop, however, work begins before Memorial Day.
“One of the things we did during our normal meeting time in April is that we came here and cleaned up all the holes that the flagpoles go into,” Beam said.
But that was more work for this year’s Memorial Day.
“This year was a little different because we didn’t do anything about COVID in 2020, so it took a little longer to clean all the flag holes,” said Beam.
The dirt had built up and the grass had grown stronger than in a typical year.
“There is a flag hole every few feet and we literally had to dig some of them out because they were two or three feet deep,” said Beam.
The event helps teach the children about community service and is also a way to give back to the Arlington American Legion, which also organized the flag-up display.
“We’re going to fly the flags of the American Legion,” said Vaughn.
“The American Legion charter Troop 92 and Pack 92 so we’ll come out and help in return,” he said.