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    Jean Lafitte

    National Historical Park and Preserve Louisiana

Memorial Day at Chalmette National Cemetery

American flags stand at headstones on Memorial Day at Chalmette National Cemetery

Flags fly at every cemetery headstone on Memorial Day

Vietnam Veterans of VFW Post 3798 will present a Memorial Day tribute to America's fallen troops at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, May 27, at Chalmette National Cemetery. The ceremony will include a color guard, bagpiper, and remarks from post members. Vietnam War veterans buried in the cemetery and members of the post interred elsewhere will be honored by a salute. The public is invited, and the event is free.

Call for volunteers: To honor those interred at the cemetery, flags will be placed at every headstone. Join staff and volunteers from the National Park Service and from The National WWII Museum for these projects.

Heartfelt thanks to the more than 200 volunteers who helped put flags at every headstone on Friday, May 25. Click here to see just a few of the pictures of your work. Your efforts are a wonderful tribute to the men and women who gave so much for their country. 

Volunteers are needed to place and remove flags. Flags will be put out on Friday, May 25, beginning at 7:30 a.m., and will be removed on Tuesday, May 29, beginning at 7:30 a.m. Flag placement and removal each take 3-4 hours; volunteers are welcome to work as much or as little of the project as they like. Both flag placement and removal require walking and bending. Assistance is also needed on May 29 to roll and package flags for storage, which can be done inside and sitting down. To volunteer or for more information, call 504-512-2445 or email the park.

As a young visitor to the cemetery said, "These aren't just headstones. Every one of them is a person, and that's why we should remember them."

Chalmette National Cemetery is located at 8606 West St. Bernard Highway in Chalmette, just downriver from Chalmette Battlefield (click here for a map to the battlefield and national cemetery) and is open daily 9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For more information about the national cemetery, call 504-281-0510 or click here.

Watch volunteers put out the flags, learn more about Memorial Day, and find out how you can honor American troops at The National WWII Museum's My Memorial Day site.

 
Hands of volunteers rolling up flags for storage after Memorial Day
Volunteers not only put flags out at headstones, but also pick them up and prepare them for storage after Memorial Day

Did You Know?

Vultures arrive on land.

Vultures do not have many predators. If an enemy does approach, the vulture will face its enemy and projectile vomit. This inventive bird also has a unique way to stay cool: it urinates on its legs. The urine also helps kill any germs picked up while treading through a carcass.