Boy Scouts participated in a Memorial Day flag placement ceremony at the Los Angeles National Cemetery on Saturday to honor the nation’s military.
Over 300 Scouts showed up to help place more than 90,000 flags on the graves, KTLA reported. Photos show the young men wearing their uniforms and saluting the fallen heroes:
“Our greatest duty to the men and women who have died in service to our country is to never forget what they did for us, and for future generations to express gratitude,” the Los Angeles National Cemetery wrote in its post.
It then praised the Scouts for doing a wonderful job “instilling in our children the understanding and respect for what those sacrifices have meant to us all.”
During the ceremony, Scouts and additional groups gave speeches to honor fallen service members.
“Civic responsibility is an important part of scouting so every scout needs to understand and recognize the sacrifice that folks have made for this country and how they can contribute to their service to the community as well,” Lee Harrison, who is the CEO of Boy Scouts of America, Western Los Angeles County Council, explained.
The Boy Scouts’ role is to help the community understand the weight of what service members did in the past and what they will do for the nation in the future; the L.A. National Cemetery Support Foundation’s Glen Schecter told KCAL News on Saturday:
“Our freedom did not come freely. The veterans that are interred here gave some or gave all so that we could be free in this country,” he said.
Meanwhile, Boy Scout Ian McClain, who is working on his Eagle Scout project, spoke on the event’s significance and what it means for the community.
“For everyone to be here, it’s very special because everybody in this cemetery right here, they have all served for us and given up their life for our freedom in this country that we live in right now,” he told KCAL:
“It’s very important for us to honor and respect all of them with anything that we can do,” he added.