Veterans
3rd US Infantry Regiment, The Old Guard, prepares for Memorial Day
Stars and Stripes
May 24, 2023
The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, the Old Guard, will begin placing American flags on every grave at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., on Thursday, May 25, 2023. (Gabriel Bacchus/U.S. Army)
For the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment — The Old Guard — Memorial Day weekend begins Thursday at 4 a.m. ET.
That is the hour when the Old Guard will arrive at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., and begin placing a U.S. flag at every gravesite on the nation's most hallowed grounds.
That will mark the beginning of a weekend of events to honor and mourn Americans who died while serving in the U.S. armed forces.
Memorial Day services will be held across the land, but Arlington is the most prominent U.S. military cemetery. Veterans and eligible dependents, such as spouses, can be buried at the cemetery, which occupies about 640 acres in Arlington, Va., and lies just across the Potomac River from the Abraham Lincoln Memorial and directly northwest of the Pentagon.
The cemetery was established in 1864 and is the final resting place for several major historical military figures, including former Army Gen. Creighton Abrams, Army Gen. Omar Bradley and General of the Armies John J. Pershing. Two former presidents — John F. Kennedy and William Howard Taft — are buried there, along with several justices of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, traditionally known as “The Old Guard,” is the oldest active-duty infantry unit in the Army, serving since 1784. The Old Guard is the Army’s official ceremonial unit.
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