The public is invited to assist in the placing of flags at Fairview Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, and invited to attend a Veterans Day ceremony on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024.

Submitted

Each year, West Hartford takes great pride in celebrating our veterans with a flag planting event on the Saturday before Veterans Day.

There are more than 1,200 military graves in Fairview Cemetery, and volunteers from the community are asked to assist the American Legion Hayes-Velhage Post 96 in placing flags to honor their service to the United States on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.

Volunteers are asked to assemble at the Cemetery Management area at 8:30 a.m. for instructions on the proper placement of flags and an assignment of a cemetery area. Everyone is welcome and there is no need to RSVP.

To assist in placement of a flag, please bring a screwdriver to prepare a hole in the ground.

Site Unmarked as a Veteran

Anyone who has a relative or friend buried at Fairview Cemetery whose grave is not properly identified as that of a veteran should contact the cemetery office at 860-561-8136 so that a flag can be placed there.

Collection of Retired Flags

Hayes-Velhage Post 96 will also be collecting any American flag that needs to be retired. An American flag, when no longer in use, is retired at a ceremony where the flag is burned. Flags will be collected from 8:30 to 10 a.m. on Saturday Nov. 16, 2024.

Tradition

The tradition of placing flags at graves for Memorial Day and Veterans Day is recognized throughout our country. At Arlington Cemetery in Virginia, over 280,000 are placed at headstones to honor every individual buried there. Veterans, residents, and West Hartford Boy and Girl Scout Troops have gathered at Fairview Cemetery to carry on this tradition initiated by the late Jean Paul Berard over 40 years ago.

Veterans Day Ceremony

The American Legion Post #96 and the Town of West Hartford will hold a brief Veterans Day ceremony on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024 at 11 a.m. at the Connecticut Veterans Memorial located on the corner of North Main Street and Farmington Avenue, West Hartford Center. The keynote speaker is LaToya Fernandez. If the weather is inclement, the ceremony will be relocated indoors in the community room at the Town Hall Auditorium, 50 South Main Street.

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