Fallen heroes honored with 'Flags-In' at Arlington National Cemetery

Image 1 of 11

Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment honored the country’s fallen military heroes Thursday by placing hundreds of thousands of American flags at gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery.

The annual “Flags-In” tradition, which takes place prior to Memorial Day weekend, has happened every year since 1948 after The Old Guard was designated as the U.S. Army’s official ceremonial unit.

More than 1,000 soldiers in the unit will place nearly 235,000 flags at every headstone and at every column in the cemetery's Columbarium Courts and the Niche Wall.

Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tom Cotton also helped to place flags at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday.

A Tomb Sentinel also placed flags at each of the crypts to honor the unknown interred at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.