Veterans Day Weekend Flag Placement Canceled
RIVERSIDE (CNS) – The annual mission to erect miniature American flags alongside tens of thousands of graves at Riverside National Cemetery on the weekend before Veterans Day was nixed this year because of challenges stemming from the federal government shutdown, organizers said Wednesday.
“Due to the ongoing government shutdown, our official flag placement ceremony at … the cemetery will not take place,” Honoring Our Fallen CEO Laura Herzog said. “This decision was not made lightly; it comes after careful consideration of the significant staffing reductions and various logistical challenges we are facing, including limited access to facilities, trash management and traffic control.”
Traditionally, the nonprofit’s volunteers, which typically include Boy Scout troops, Civil Air Patrol cadets, members of various unions and their families, former military personnel and others, deploy the weekend prior to Veterans Day for a four-hour walk throughout the cemetery’s 900 acres — 70 sections — to erect the small flags, routinely reaching all of the nearly 250,000 burial plots.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration manages Riverside National Cemetery. Its staffing levels have been cut back amid the federal furloughs that started a month ago amid congressional and Executive Office conflicts that led to the shutdown.
“While we cannot proceed with the formal event, we encourage everyone to visit the cemetery to place a flag in honor of your veteran, friends or loved ones,” Herzog said. “The cemetery remains open for this purpose. The dedication to honoring our veterans is invaluable, and we appreciate your cooperation as we navigate these circumstances together.”
The walks, first organized in 2012, are conducted not only on Veterans Day but also Memorial Day weekend. Both were rescinded in 2020 because of the COVID-19 lockdowns but returned in 2021.
When they first started, volunteers were able to reach only 21,000 grave sites. In 2014, organizers were able to procure enough flags and enlist a sufficient number of people to plant the Stars & Stripes next to just about all of the final resting places of individuals interred at the cemetery.
Since then, the number of volunteers has grown significantly. The cemetery is the third-largest of its kind in the nation.
Additional information is available at honoringourfallen.org/events/veterans-day-2025-flag-placement/.
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