Volunteers Wanted To Plant 5,000 Flags Before Memorial Day In Framingham

FRAMINGHAM, MA — In advance of Memorial Day, the city intends to plant over 5,000 U.S. flags on the Framingham graves of military veterans, and is asking volunteers to help.

The banners will adorn all seven Framingham cemeteries, according to a public notice last week. The work begins this Saturday, when about 2,500 flags will be added to gravesites at Edgell Grove Cemetery.

Memorial Day flag plantings are a tradition here and in many communities. As in previous years, the city’s Veterans Services Department and Board of Cemetery Trustees are organizing the effort, with the help of patriotic volunteers.

Edgell Grove dates to 1848 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The cemetery comprises about 50 acres, where more than 13,000 people are buried, according to the City of Framingham website.

With meandering gravel roads and rolling hills, Edgell Grove is unlike a traditional churchyard or military cemetery.

“As such,” the Framingham notice said, “the (flag planting) requires a large number of volunteers, particularly energetic youth and adults, to help complete the task in this large and distinctive cemetery.”

The notice added, “This solemn act of remembrance ensures that the sacrifices of our veterans are not forgotten, and the City of Framingham is calling on the community to help continue this important legacy.”

Volunteers should meet at 9 a.m. on Saturday, at the cemetery office, to receive their flags and planting assignments.

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