ARLINGTON, Va. — Looking for a way to honor many of our nation's heroes this Memorial Day weekend? An organization is looking for volunteers to lay flowers at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Arlington-based location is the most famous cemetery in the country, where more than 300,000 veterans who served in conflicts dating back to from the Civil War have been laid to rest. Since its founding in 1866, the cemetery has provided a solemn place to reflect upon the sacrifices made by the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces.
The Memorial Day Flowers Foundation will be holding their traditional flower distribution event on May 28 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., simultaneously with the 2nd annual Flowers of Remembrance Day. All visitors in attendance to the event will have to the opportunity to place a flower at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier -- it's one of the only days of the year where the public is allowed to do so.
“We received such a tremendous response from the public during our inaugural Flowers of Remembrance Day event last year," said Army National Military Cemeteries and Office of Army Cemeteries Executive Director Karen Durham-Aguilera. "We wanted to again allow our visitors the special opportunity to honor and respect the sacrifice of the Unknown Soldiers by placing flowers at the Tomb."
After the flower is placed, volunteers will be able to exit by the south side of the Plaza, where tables will be set up for the distribution.
The foundation said that due to difficulty to secure corporate funding this year, they are counting on individual donors to help support the program. They also stated that they will "make every attempt to give the general public at least one flower to place at a nearby section."
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