200,000 American Flags Placed on SoCal Graves to Honor Veterans

This is the first year every grave at the Riverside National Cemetery got an American flag

Members of the military who paid the ultimate sacrifice were honored over the Veterans Day weekend by volunteers who placed an American flag on each of the 200,000 graves at the Riverside National Cemetery.

About 1,000 volunteers, including boy scout troops and members of veterans groups, began placing the flags Saturday.

There was a brief moment of panic when organizers realized they were short a few hundred flags. But volunteers returned Sunday with enough of them to finish the job.

The tradition of erecting flags for heroes who are laid to rest in the rolling hills of the Riverside National Cemetery began in 2007 with about 1,000 flags.

This year marked the first time a flag was placed for each grave.

A special ceremony will be held Monday to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Riverside National Cemetery, which is the busiest cemetery of its kind in the country, according to the amount of daily services.

The flags will be removed Tuesday.

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