Why You Should Drive to Louisiana to See the Stunning Avenue of Flags

Veterans Day occurs on November 11th each year to recognize the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. It is a time for people to reflect on their sacrifices, including their time, energy, and everything else they have put forward to protect our freedoms in this country.

Multiple events are planned across the state of Louisiana to celebrate veterans. The Avenue of Flags is a stunning presentation of 1,224 flags in the Orange Grove Graceland Cemetery in Lake Charles. This is also the 40th anniversary of the Veterans ceremony featuring the flags. The original Veterans Day event featured only 50 flags.

Hundreds of volunteers will arrive at the cemetery early Sunday morning to put up all the flags. If you would like to help, they are taking volunteers. The display will only be up for that day. Anyone can walk through, cycle through, or drive through the cemetery to look at the flags. Volunteers with the group say there is a new addition this year.

The new addition is "The History Walk," which provides information about the history of the American flag and the 27 different flags that have represented America. QR codes for each flag will also have the information.

According to Ted Harless, one of the event's organizers, this is the biggest display of casket flags in Louisiana. They do this event twice yearly, once on Memorial Day and then Veterans Day. He says each flag is the "casket flag" of a veteran, and information about that person is cataloged so anyone can learn about them.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Avenue of Flags is the largest display of memorial flags in the United States. <a href="https://t.co/lLYWDfPW0V">https://t.co/lLYWDfPW0V</a></p>&mdash; KPLC (@KPLC7News) <a href="https://twitter.com/KPLC7News/status/1854192034455728222?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>