Memorial Day weekend flag placing at Woodlawn National Cemetery

ELMIRA, N.Y. ( WETM ) – The annual Memorial Day flag placing at the Woodlawn National Cemetery is taking place this Friday, May 24.

Those who are interested in volunteering to help are asked to arrive at 9 a.m. Flags will be prepared ahead of time for people to grab upon arrival.

“The flags will be in some large wooden boxes at a few different locations around the cemetery. You just make your way to the boxes and you grab a few bundles,” said Flag Placement Coordinator Donnie Taylor. “They have a little poker that you stick down in the ground if it’s a hard area. You stick the poker in first and then you stick the flag in and you just do that in front of every headstone.”

Taylor also spoke about the impact it has on him and his family as veterans, speaking on the importance of honoring what the fallen members of the military did for this country.

“I’m a veteran myself. I have a brother and a father who are also veterans. We are combat veterans,” said Taylor. “We just can’t ever take for granted the freedoms and the rights that we have. You know, the freedoms our ancestors and our fellow Americans have fought for.”

The flags will stay on the graves throughout Memorial Day weekend and will be taken down on Tuesday, May 28, at 9 a.m. Volunteers are welcome to take part in the picking up of the flags as well.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WETM - MyTwinTiers.com.