Arlington National Cemetery Readies Memorial Day Events

U.S. service members who died in uniform. The cemetery, which receives more than 3 million visitors each year, will conduct up to 30 burials each weekday while completing holiday setup.

U.S. flags at more than 260,000 gravesites early on Thursday, May 21. The regiment, known as The Old Guard, has performed the task annually since 1948. Sentinels from the Tomb Guard also placed flags at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and Army and Navy chaplains placed flags on Chaplains Hill in Section 2.

Staff Sgt. ” The flags will remain in place through the weekend and be removed after Memorial Day.

M. m. m. m. ET. Historian Allison Finkelstein wrote that the event, added in 2022, allows the public to step onto the normally restricted plaza and connect directly with the ritual. m. the same day, cemetery historians will present a program on the history of Decoration Day, which began in 1868, followed by a walking tour.

The annual Rolling to Remember motorcycle procession is also expected near the cemetery that morning.

M. on Monday, May 25, with the formal program starting near noon at the Memorial Amphitheater. Seating is first-come, first-served, and attendees must use the tram from the Welcome Center. A livestream will be available on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service website.

President Trump, who has regularly laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Memorial Day, also spoke at the national observance in 2025. m. U.S. Army Special Forces Captain Daniel W. Eggers. Country music artist Gretchen Wilson will perform.

m. m. for the evening program.