I’m not sure if it happened this year due to the pandemic but normally, Boston Common is filled with flags on Memorial Day. A lot of flags. 37,000+ flags. They’re not just there as a meaningless patriotic display. Each flag represents someone from Massachusetts who died in the service of his or her country going all the way back the Revolutionary War. This is just one small view of the Common taken on my trip in 2014:
It’s almost hard to comprehend just how many flags and by extension just how many people this represents. And this is just memorializing those from Massachusetts who paid the ultimate price.
I always try to stop by a national cemetery or at least the military corner of a civilian cemetery to pay my respects and give thanks to those who gave all to allow me the freedoms that I enjoy. Today’s trip was to the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery near Joliet. I didn’t take any pictures on this particular outing. Sometimes it’s good to set the camera down. Today felt like one of those days.