The Veterans Day event this weekend will place about 1,200 flags on graves to honor them for Veterans Day, which is Nov. 11.
Town of West Hartford
WEST HARTFORD, CT — The town is looking for volunteers to come out Saturday, Nov. 1, to place flags on veteran graves at Fairview Cemetery.
"Each year, West Hartford takes great pride in celebrating our veterans with a flag planting event on the Saturday before Veterans Day," wrote the town in an announcement.
The effort begins at 8:30 a.m. at the cemetery, which is located at 200 Whitman Ave., West Hartford.
There are more than 1,200 military graves in Fairview Cemetery, and volunteers from the community are asked to assist the American Legion Hayes-Velhage Post 96 in placing flags to honor their service to the United States.
Volunteers are asked to assemble at the cemetery management area at 8:30 a.m. for instructions on the proper placement of flags and an assignment of a cemetery area.
Everyone is welcome, and there is no need to RSVP.
To assist in the placement of a flag, please bring a screwdriver to prepare a hole in the ground.
Veterans, residents, and West Hartford Scout Troops have gathered at Fairview Cemetery to carry on this tradition initiated by the late Jean Paul Berard more than 40 years ago.
The tradition of placing flags at graves for Memorial Day and Veterans Day is recognized throughout our country.
At Arlington Cemetery in Virginia, more than 280,000 are placed at headstones to honor every individual buried there.
Collection of retired flags
Meanwhile, Hayes-Velhage Post 96 will also be collecting any American flag that day that needs to be retired.
An American flag, when no longer in use, is retired at a ceremony where the flag is burned.
Flags will be collected from 8:30to 10 a.m. on Saturday, November 1, 2025.
Veterans Day ceremony
The flag effort is a precursor to the Veterans Day holiday on Nov. 11.
The American Legion Post 96 and the Town of West Hartford will host a brief Veterans Day ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m. at the Connecticut Veterans Memorial.
The memorial is located on the corner of North Main St. and Farmington Avenue, West Hartford Center.
If the weather is inclement, the ceremony will be relocated indoors to the West Hartford Town Hall auditorium, 50 S. Main St.
Anyone who has a relative or friend buried at Fairview Cemetery whose grave is not properly identified as a veteran should contact the cemetery office at 860-561-8136 so a flag can be placed there.