Chaplains gather for Flags In

By Julia LeDoux, Pentagram Staff WriterMay 28, 2015

Chaplains gather for Flags In
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Donald L. Rutherford, former U.S. Army chief of chaplains, and Capt. Ted Randall, an Arlington National Cemetery chaplain, place American flags on gravesites in Arlington National Cemetery during Flags In May 21, 2015. In a matter... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Chaplains gather for Flags In
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The Old Guard Soldiers receive bundles of American flags to place on grave sites in Arlington National Cemetery during Flags In May 21. In a matter of hours, chaplains and chaplain assistants from across the Military District of Washington placed hun... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Chaplains gather for Flags In
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Col. Gary R. Studniewski, command chaplain for Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region and the U.S. Military District of Washington, gives remarks after placing American flags on grave sites in Arlington National Cemetery during Fl... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Chaplains gather for Flags In
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – 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... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Chaplains gather for Flags In
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – 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... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

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.

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May 28, 2015 Pentagram