Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., on Thursday, May 21, 2026. The ritual is simply called "flags in." Service members place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Headstones are seen among the many trees at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, May 21, 2026. The cemetery has more than 9,800 trees and more than 400 varieties and species.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier can be seen at Arlington Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Reagan Fain, 4, plants a flag at the headstone of a U.S. military service member buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
A member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Visitors pass rows of headstones as they ride in a bus at Arlington National Cemetery. Millions of people visit the vast grounds every year.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday. Service members placed small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours in preparation for Memorial Day weekend. COMING IN MONDAY'S E-EDITION: Read more about the Flags In tradition at the cemetery. MORE ONLINE: Watch a video and see several more photos from Arlington National Cemetery by aiming your cellphone camera at the QR code and tapping the link. Digital access is included in your subscription.
A group of students can be seen in a reflection at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
A member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Reagan Fain, 4, plants a flag at the headstone of a U.S. military service member buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
A tree blooms among the rows and rows of headstones at Arlington National Cemetery.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Sacks of American flags sit, waiting to be placed among the headstones at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, May 21, 2026.Â
American flags sit in neat rows by the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
A member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
A headstone can be seen at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours ahead of Memorial Day.
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Kosovare Fain, left, helps Reagan Fain, 4, plant a flag at the headstone of a U.S. military service member buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, May 21, 2026.Â
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Service members will place small American flags in front of approximately 250,000 headstones in under four hours.
Talk that the General Assembly might use a stalled state budget to enact vetoed ideas would be an abuse of the Virginia way, Gov. Abigail Spanberger said Tuesday.
