Los Angeles Area Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to Place 88,000 American Flags Honoring Veterans

LOS ANGELES, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

WHAT:
Have you ever wondered how all those American flags (more than 88,000) get placed for the Memorial Day observance at Los Angeles National Cemetery? For more than four decades, Boy Scouts from across the region have gathered the Saturday before Memorial Day for the largest Scout-sponsored flag placing ceremony in the Western U.S. (and one of the largest nationwide outside Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia). This year, more than 5,000 Scouts (Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts), along with members of the general public, will begin their holiday weekend by doing something tangible to honor veterans. 

The flag placing event will kick off with patriotic music performed by the 20-member L.A. Boy Scout Band. Famed WWII Purple Heart Recipient Jimmy Weldon (best known as voice of "Yakky Doodle" in the Yogi Bear animated cartoon series) will give an inspiring speech about the meaning of Memorial Day. The Scouts and members of the public will then place flags on all 88,000-plus gravesites. The flags will remain in place until Tuesday, May 30^th, when the Scouts will return to retrieve and store them for next year.

WHEN:
Saturday, May 27

• 7:00 a.m. – Arrival
• 7:30 a.m. – Presentations
• 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. – Flag placement

WHERE:
Los Angeles National Cemetery in West Los Angeles
950 S Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90049

• Press, veterans, and disabled persons may park at the cemetery.
• Members of the public and volunteers should park across Sepulveda Blvd. (enter at Constitution Ave.) on the VA campus near UCLA's Jackie Robinson stadium.

WHO:

• More than 5,000 local Scouts (Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts)
• Parents
• Members of the public (all are invited to help place the 88,000-plus flags)

INTERVIEWS:

• Andrew Sisolak – Director of Field Service, Boy Scouts of America (Western L.A. County Council)
• Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts (including local Eagle Scouts who built boxes to store all 88,000 flags and painted markers to help veteran families locate loved ones at the cemetery)
• Glenn Schecter – Flag Placing Committee Member (whose father is interned at the cemetery)
• Thomas Ruck – Director, Los Angeles National Cemetery
• Natalie MacEwon – Council Venturing President (Bilingual-Spanish)

VISUALS:

• Thousands of Scouts in uniform laying American Flags at more than 88,000 gravesites
• Scout troops with unit flags
• Presentation by WWII Purple Heart Recipient Jimmy Weldon
• 20-member Boy Scout Band performing patriotic music

CONTACT:
Erik Deutsch
For Boy Scouts of America, Western Los Angeles County Council
(323) 851-2455
erikd[at]excelpr[dot]com  

SOURCE Boy Scouts of America, Western Los Angeles County Council