Members of communities nationwide spend the Friday before Memorial Day honoring the men and women who sacrificed their lives while serving our nation. Here in the Alamo city, that community event is called Flags at Fort Sam. We pay our respects by placing American flags at the headstones of all the fallen service members who have been laid to rest at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. With over 1,000 participants each year, Flags at Fort Sam has been a long-standing tradition for the Alamo Area Council and the Scouting community.
This year, Flags at Fort Sam will look a little different. The Alamo Area Council alongside the National Cemetery Administration (NCA), is committed to observing this Memorial Day in a manner that honors those who sacrificed for our Nation. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the NCA has made the difficult decision to not host public events for Memorial Day. Therefore, the Alamo Area Council has moved Flags at Fort Sam to a virtual event for 2020.
Virtual Flags at Fort Sam – Friday, May 22, 2020 at sunset, 8:26 pm
We are asking all Scouts and their families to join us from their backyards, with their bugles and trumpets in hand, at sunset (8:26 pm) on Friday, May 22nd. Honoring our fallen heroes live on Facebook, the distinctive bugle melody TAPS will be played by a Scout of our very own. We invite you to pay your respects with us.
Throughout Memorial Day weekend, the Alamo Area Council will also be posting photos and video clips from previous Flags at Fort Sam events. We’d love to share your photos, video clips and your personal Memorial Day messages in conjunction with the Council’s memoriam. Please send them to FlagsatFortSam@AlamoAreaBSA.org.
On behalf of the Boy Scouts of America, Alamo Area Council, thank you to all those who laid down their life for the safety and freedom of our great nation, and we send our condolences to the family members who were left behind. We are forever grateful for the sacrifice your family made for our freedom.
“The memory of the righteous is a blessing.” -Proverbs 10:7
