Marc Garcia plays the trumpet at a ceremony at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in 2018. Photo by Bill Milligan.

Every Memorial Day weekend, thousands of Scouts gather at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery to pay tribute to members of the military by decorating each of the 150,000 graves with American flags. The tradition will continue at 12:30 p.m. May 26 when Scouts gather for the 70th annual Memorial Day Good Turn.

Approximately 4,000 Scouts from across the region will assemble at the south side of the cemetery and march to the main flagpole at 12:30 p.m. Following the procession, a short ceremony will take place. A military guest speaker will also address the crowd.

During this solemn ceremony, Scouts will honor those who served our country by raising the American flag and then lowering it to half‐mast as Scout buglers play “Taps.” Scouts who earned the rank during the past year of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in Scouting, will serve as the color guard.

Scouts and leaders will then decorate each grave in the cemetery with a small American flag.

It takes just two hours for Scouts to place more than 150,000 flags, which are provided by the cemetery.

Memorial Day Good Turn is one of the longest-running Memorial Day events for Boy Scouts of America. For more information, visit stlbsa.org/memorial-day-good-turn.