37,000 Memorial Day Flags Planted on Boston Common
Photo by Yiqing Shao
The elegance of Boston’s annual Memorial Day Flag Garden is undeniable. Each of the 37,000 American flags represents a fallen service member from Massachusetts who died in service since the Revolutionary War.
The image is impactful, to say the least. The flags cascade down the grassy knoll topped by the Common’s Soldiers and Sailors Monument, fluttering in unison as passersby quietly read about the tribute and take photos. Bostonians should be proud to host such a beautiful arrangement, reminding people that Memorial Day is a holiday about remembering the fallen first, and the kickoff of summer second.
Photo by Yiqing Shao
The flag garden is put together by the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund, which will also host a ceremony Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m., when the names of Massachusetts heroes who have fallen in service to the United States as a result of current military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan will be read.
Writes the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund:
Our signature community building event! We and hundreds of volunteers create a majestic garden of flags on Boston Common for Memorial Day weekend. Each of the 37,000 flags we plant at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument will represent every brave Massachusetts service member who gave his or her life defending our country since the Revolutionary War. The completed garden is a breathtaking tribute to the true meaning of Memorial Day and a powerful message of community support to the families of these fallen heroes that their sacrifices will never be forgotten.
We rely on donors and volunteers to create this display and to stand watch over them throughout Memorial Day weekend. Please consider volunteering your time or sponsoring a flag to help create this moving tribute.
Even if you’ve seen it before, stop by the Memorial Day Flag Garden this weekend if you can. Then go fire up the grill.
May 26–30, Boston Common, Tremont St., Boston, 888-909-HERO (4376), massmilitaryheroes.org.
