Thousands of flags placed at Biloxi National Cemetery in annual Memorial Day tradition

More than 1500 volunteers came out to Biloxi National Cemetery on Saturday morning in the heat and sun, blanketing the property’s 54 acres with thousands of tiny American flags in an annual tradition in honor of Memorial Day.

Among the volunteers were veterans, active duty military members from all branches, Boy Scouts, fraternities and sororities, and American Heritage Girls, as well as family members of the service members that are interred at the cemetery.

“It’s a real honor to remember our veterans and those who have sacrificed so much,” said Larry Davis, a retired coast guard member who volunteers to help place the flags most years.

This year, Davis, accompanied by his friend Jim Genesse and their wives, paid a visit to the grave of a friend’s parents, Charlie and Betty Gibson, after they finished placing flags. According to Davis, Charlie Gibson was a major in the marine corps and started the Junior ROTC program at Gulfport High School.

On Saturday, the volunteers worked quickly, covering the cemetery’s roughly 27,000 graves in flags in a short 35 minutes. In comparison, Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C. is usually flag-covered in about four hours.

According to Albert Maxwell Jr., the cemetery director for the Biloxi National Cemetery, the cemetery has been placing flags on its headstones since about the 1970s.

“The great part about this is it shows people’s love for the community and the cemetery and how they care about the veteran population here. I’m glad to be part of this community here,” said Maxwell of the annual tradition to place the American flags on each grave in the cemetery.

The flags are just one part of the cemetery’s plans to honor Memorial Day. The cemetery will host a public ceremony on Memorial Day featuring guest speakers at 9 a.m. on May 27.

According to Maxwell, the cemetery is also looking for volunteers to help collect the flags on June 1 at 9 a.m.

“That’s when we really need the volunteers to come out, folks don’t realize that we have to pick them up as well.”