"FLAGS IN" AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Carrying bundles of small Amercian flags in backpacks, soldiers march out to their assigned sections during “Flags In” at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., May 21, 2015. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Steven Hitchcock.

A total of 228,000 American flags stand at every headstone during “Flags In” at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., May 21, 2015. U.S. Army photo by Rachel Larue.

ARMED FORCES DAY AT ARLINGTON

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

BATTAGLIA, SENIOR LEADERS PARTICIPATE IN ARMED FORCES DAY AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

Members of a joint service honor guard stand at attention during a wreath-laying ceremony to mark Armed Forces Day at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., May 17, 2014. DOD photo by Anthony Steele.

The U.S. Army Band performs at the Memorial Amphitheater while service members and civilians listen to Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan B. Battaglia, senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider to mark Armed Forces Day at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., May 17, 2014. DOD photo by Anthony Steele.

THE OLD GUARD REMEMBERS THE FALLEN

Army Sgt. Titus Fields of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment -- The Old Guard -- places an American flag in front of a gravestone in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., May 23, 2013. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jose A. Torres Jr.

FROM: U.S. ARMY, MEMORIAL DAY
Old Guard Marks Graves With Flags to Honor Fallen Warriors
Army News Service

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2013 - A sea of tiny American flags flutters gently in the breeze now at Arlington National Cemetery. The flags were placed at gravesites May 23 in tribute to the service and sacrifice of the nation's fallen service members who rest there.

In advance of Memorial Day, soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment -- The Old Guard -- carefully placed the flags by hand, one by one, in front of each gravestone at the cemetery.

"I think every soldier you will talk to, especially the Old Guard alumni, [say] that for them, 'Flags In' is one of the most meaningful things that Old Guard soldiers get to take a part in," said Army Maj. John Miller, spokesman for the Old Guard. "It's just overwhelming that you can go out and be amongst all these warriors that have gone before you and you can honor their legacy by just a single token of putting a flag at their gravesite and giving them a hand salute."

The Flags In event is an old tradition at the cemetery, Miller said.

"Flags In is a tradition that the Old Guard has carried on now for over 40 years -- though nobody has an exact date," he said.

The tradition actually goes back even further, though there was a break in the tradition for a while. But The Old Guard revived it after World War II. It dates back to the Grand Army of the Republic in 1868 to honor Union Soldiers that had fallen during the Civil War, Miller said.

About 1,200 Old Guard soldiers participated in the event this year, and about 220,000 graves received a flag, as did memorial markers and rows of urns at the cemetery's columbarium. Miller said the soldiers were able to accomplish the task in about four hours -- beginning after the last full-honors funeral ended at the cemetery. That means, for the graves alone, a soldier placed a flag every 80 seconds.

The major said soldiers put a toe against the center of the stone, and then place the flag at the heel, providinging a uniform appearance. Uniformity and perfection is something that the Old Guard prides itself on, Miller said.

"The Old Guard soldiers are the last thing that a family sees as they bury their loved one from the Army," he said. "And that's what we try to give every service member's family. Their final vision of the Army is one of perfection and professionalism, and that is how we try to honor the fallen service members in the cemetery every year as well."

In addition to each grave marker at the cemetery receiving a flag, sentinels at the Tomb of the Unknowns placed flags at the graves of each of the four unknown service members interred there. Additionally, about 13,500 flags were placed at the Soldier's and Airmen's Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

VOLUNTEERS WORK TO KEEP-UP ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETARY

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Volunteers plant milkweed to attract Monarch butterfly larvae at Arlington National Cemetery, during the 16th annual Renewal and Remembrance Volunteer Day of Service at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., July 9, 2012. DOD photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.  
Landscapers 'Give Back' to Vets, Fallen at Arlington
By Terri Moon Cronk
ARLINGTON, Va. , July 9, 2012 - More than 400 volunteers from children to adults descended on the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery today for the 16th annual Renewal and Remembrance, to honor the nation's veterans and fallen service members by sprucing up the landmark's grounds.

Members of PLANET – the nonprofit Professional Landcare Network -- brought out 82 professional lawn care and landscape companies from around the country for this year's Renewal and Remembrance. They lent their hands and donated materials and equipment to mulch, prune, aerate, irrigate, plant, spread lime, and cable some of the trees for lightning protection on 150 of the cemetery's more than 560 acres.

Since the annual Renewal and Remembrance landscaping event began, more than $2 million has been contributed to the care of the national cemetery, according to a PLANET news release.

The cemetery's 8,400 trees are maintained on a four-year pruning cycle. Some are more than 200 years old, cemetery officials said.

John Gibson of Swingle Lawn, Tree and Landscape Care traveled from Denver with his daughters Taylor, 17, and Marissa, 15, to join a six-person crew that spread 400 bags of lime to balance the soil's nutritional levels. This is his twelfth year of working with Renewal and Remembrance at the cemetery, and his daughters' first, he said.
"The very first year," John Gibson said, "I realized what an impact it would make on those people who made an impact for us. It's pretty emotional every year to have a chance to give back. All we do is lawn and tree care, and these guys [sacrificed their lives] for us."
"It's nice to give back to the people who gave everything," Taylor Gibson said, adding that she and her sister would come back next year.

About 25 of the volunteers' children, ranging in age from 3 to 12, pitched in on the beautification project. But before they planted milkweed, they received a lesson in the importance of how the plants attract the caterpillars of the endangered and migratory Monarch butterfly, and how the caterpillars feed only on that particular plant.
Former Navy officer Roger Phelps, promotional communications manager for Stihl equipment, has worked with the children at Arlington's Renewal and Remembrance for 10 years.

"It's my passion," Phelps said of his work with the project. "These kids are our future, and creating this experience is important."

And volunteers bringing their children, he added, is especially meaningful.
"It's so important, because we live in sort of a virtual world," he said. "These kids are different. They live in a real world. They get their hands dirty, they put the plants in the ground [and] see the roots in the dirt."

Phelps said many of the children return from year to year and see the fruits of their labor as the vegetation they planted grows and matures.

"We take the kids around to all the different areas they've worked on over the years, so they can point to the things they've worked on and planted," he said. "The opportunity for us is to give them an understanding of what it means to serve, and what service means. What they learn here is by working with the plants, they have an opportunity to serve the families and visitors by creating an environment that is pleasant and respectful."
The significance of the children volunteering goes beyond planting foliage, Phelps said.
"We live in a generation that's getting a little separated from what it means to serve in the military," he said. "So these kids learn that at the same time."

Phelps related the story of a young girl who once asked her father if all the headstones were people. "He had the opportunity to explain to her what this place means," he said.
Phelps, a former Navy lieutenant commander, said Arlington National Cemetery is a special place to him.

"I've got some shipmates and friends in here," he said, adding that many of the landscape volunteers also know someone who is buried at the national cemetery. "It's a personal thing, too."

150TH ANNIVERSARY OF TAPS

U.S. AIR FORCE
Buglers from across the nation gathered at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday, May 19, 2012 to honor the 150th anniversary of taps. (Photo by Jim Dresbach) 
Arlington ceremony honors 150th anniversary of taps 
by Jim Dresbach
Pentagram Staff Writer
5/21/2012 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Intermingled with song birds and reverent silence, 200 buglers from around the country collectively sounded America's most recognizable bugle call May 19 at Arlington National Cemetery.

From Section 60 to the Kennedy gravesites, the 150th anniversary of the bugle call "taps" was commemorated at a morning tribute in the Old Amphitheater and by sounding a mid-day rendition from corner to corner of the cemetery.

"This is an enormous privilege. I am honored," said Jay Callahan of Greensboro, N.C., who sounded the call in the vicinity of Gen. John Pershing's grave.

Like Callahan, who wore a typical World War I-era uniform featuring leggings and wool trousers, many buglers took the opportunity to wear war-period uniforms. Male and female, young and old, active-duty and veterans traveled from as far as California and Washington state to fill a sun-kissed sky with the gift of taps.

Before the mass-sounding, the buglers cradled their instruments during the anniversary commemoration and listened to the executive director of the Army National Cemeteries Program, Kathryn A. Condon, who thanked the standing room-only crowd for their attendance and their devotion toward veterans and active-duty service members.

"On behalf of Arlington [National Cemetery] and all of the other national cemeteries, I want to thank each and every one of you today for honoring our veterans - those who are laid to rest and those who are currently serving - with your presence today," she said. "I want to wish happy anniversary to taps because taps is even older than Arlington."

History has recorded that taps formally replaced a French bugle call for lights out during the Civil War and was first sounded at a military burial in July of 1862. By 1900, the bugle call was routinely being played at every military funeral.

Many stories of cemetery location choices where buglers sounded the 24 notes of taps were poignant and touching. Bugler John Teller of Middletown, Md., who was dressed in Civil War-era garb, picked the burial site of his grandfather, U.S. Navy Capt. Steadman Teller, in Arlington National Cemetery's section two.

Tom Day, the founder of Bugles Across America - an organization devoted to providing a live sounding of taps at every military funeral - played at President Howard Taft's grave. Born in Illinois, Day graduated from Chicago's Taft High School.

Bruce McKee of Martinsville, Ind., made sure he played in section 34 where his long-time Air Force buddy is buried.

"To me, [playing here] is the Holy Grail," said McKee, who was also joined by his 19-year-old daughter, Carrie, who also played taps during the Saturday ceremonies. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Basically, this is a dream come true for a bugler to stand here and play in this place."

Alan Tolbert, a 13-year-old middle school trumpeter from Shippensburg, Pa., played near the burial site of Johnny Clem, a Civil War Union drummer boy who became the youngest noncommissioned officer in Army history and later a brigadier general.

"This is a great opportunity to honor all those who served and died in the military," said Tolbert. "Taps is something that differs from every other bugle call."

SAPLINGS PLANTED IN ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY FOR ARBOR DAY AND SERVICE MEMBERS

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
From Left to Right: American Forests Chief Executive Officer Scott Sheen, Katherine Hammack, assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment, and cemetery arborist Stephen Van Hoven place soil around a ribbon-laden sapling at the end of an Arbor Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, April 27, 2012. DOD photo by Terri Moon Cronk

Arlington National Cemetery Plants Saplings to Honor Troops
By Terri Moon Cronk
ARLINGTON, Va., April 27, 2012 - In honor of Arbor Day and to pay respects to U.S. service members, officials planted five oak tree saplings at Arlington National Cemetery here today.

saplings were grown from acorns taken from the renowned "Arlington Oak," a 220-year-old tree that was felled by Hurricane Irene in August 2011. The old oak tree stood in the area of the cemetery's Kennedy family burial site. Several years ago, the nonprofit American Forests organization collected acorns from the old oak and grew the saplings.

Three of the saplings were planted near the Kennedy family gravesite. Of the remaining two saplings, one was planted in section 26, near the old amphitheater and the other in section 36, near Custis Walk.

"On this ground we have the opportunity to re-establish a lost national landmark with its very own offspring," said keynote speaker Katherine Hammack, the assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment. "We can do this because Arlington National Cemetery and American Forests had foresight. They collected acorns from that landmark tree next to President [John F.] Kennedy's gravesite to prepare for an inevitable future."

Cemetery historian Tom Sherlock said when President Kennedy visited Arlington House in the spring of 1963, the Arlington oak was prominent in his view as he looked down upon Washington, D.C.

Kennedy said he was taken with the "magnificent" view, Sherlock said, noting the president also remarked that he "could stay there forever." That area near the tree was later chosen as Kennedy's burial site.

Today, a single oak sapling where the old tree once stood also represents a tribute to U.S. service members, Hammack said.

"When we were planning today's ceremony, the 1973 song, 'Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree' came to mind," she said. "We have lost the old oak tree of a 220-year legacy, but we have an opportunity to tie a yellow ribbon around the young oak tree."
Arlington cemetery's saplings, Hammack said, remind Americans "of those men and women who are serving in harm's way" to protect the nation.
"On behalf of a grateful nation and the U.S. Army, this serves as a welcome home to all service men and women," she said.

Hammack then tied a yellow ribbon around the young tree.