Hundreds of Scouts from the Greater St. Louis Area Council gathered over Memorial Day weekend at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in south St. Louis County, honoring the millions of U.S. troops who lost their lives in war.
The Gravois Trail Memorial Day Good Turn on Sunday took place for the 75th year at the national cemetery — known for being one of the oldest and largest in the country. The annual tradition began in St. Louis and is now practiced across the country. More than 200,000 veterans and their loved ones are buried there, according to the National Cemetery Administration. The burial ground includes gravesites from every U.S. war, including the Civil War and American Revolutionary War.
Children and their parents swatted at pesky cicadas as the insects buzzed by on the hot and sunny afternoon. More than 400 Scouts — dressed in tan attire with troop numbers highlighted on colorful patches — and their families walked to the cemetery in a quiet procession just before noon.
A bagpipe band played, and after the Pledge of Allegiance, a flag-raising ceremony, other remarks and prayer, retired Army Lt. Col. William Wolfinger took to the mic.
“It looks like the Lord has been with us on the weather,” Wolfinger said with a smile. “Now if he can just take care of the cicadas, we’d really be happy, but maybe that’s something he blessed us with.”
Wolfinger, who served 21 years in the Army, reflected on the history of Memorial Day, inaugurated in 1868 by Maj. Gen. John A. Logan, commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. Wolfinger noted that the day was marked as a way to remember the losses of both sides of the Civil War.
“We’re talking about fatalities in the military in the order of about 1.2 million, and here we’re close to 200,000 buried here at this facility,” said Wolfinger, who served in Vietnam and Germany. “The only national cemetery that has more is at Arlington, so this is a very impressive place to be and an honor to be out here on this day.”
Katherine Adams, 19, a marketing intern at the Greater St. Louis Area Council, said she understands that most people wouldn’t want to spend part of their three-day weekend in the heat or rain putting flags on graves. Many of the Scouts were tasked with planting American flags at thousands of headstones after the ceremony.
“By putting the flag on the grave, we make sure that everybody in this cemetery is remembered in some way,” Adams said. “Just to see the mass turnout of Scouts who are probably getting to know some of these names or visiting some of their family members here, it’s a really special thing.”
The Scouts also assisted Jewish War Veterans Post 644 in placing flags at other local cemeteries. Wolfinger commended the Scouts for their efforts.
“You’re honoring the people who are heroes,” he said. “That term gets used a lot these days. But it’s truly those who have given their lives for this country and for the world. We’ve done a lot to try to make the world a better place, not only here in the United States, but across the globe.”
He encouraged everyone to take a moment to read the gravestones.
“Every now and then I ask you to take a look at the tombstones and read what’s inscribed on them so that it’s just not a body in a casket in the ground, but maybe you get a little feeling for the person who is there.”
