American Flags Renewed For Holiday In Longwood Cemetery

KENNETT SQUARE, PA — Kennett Square Boy Scout Troop 31, American Legion Post 491, and a state representative placed about 460 American flags at the Longwood Cemetery in preparation for the holiday weekend to honor those who've died in the line of military service to their country.

State Rep. Christina Sappey (D-158th) renewed flags in the Longwood Cemetery on Friday afternoon with help from the community.

Sappey, who serves on the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, replaced flags within the cemetery, along with the American Legion Post 491 of Kennett Square, and Boy Scout Troop 31 and Scoutmaster Ray Coe.

"Memorial Day is a time to honor the brave men and women who have died in service to our country and to reflect on the enormous sacrifices made to protect the freedoms we enjoy today," said Sappey.

"Placing new flags in this cemetery is a way to show we haven’t forgotten their heroism. This holiday, which originated as a way to honor soldiers who died in the Civil War, like some buried here, also serves as a reminder of the significant debt of gratitude we owe our current military members," the state representative added.

The American Legion Post 491 lays approximately 1,500 flags at cemeteries throughout the area, honoring veterans from the American Revolution up to the Gulf War.

The Longwood Cemetery, chartered in 1855, was founded with bylaws allowing “no distinction on account of color or condition in its burial plot assignments.” Black Civil War soldiers, doctors, and nurses, as well as white abolitionists and Underground Railroad conductors, are buried at the cemetery, Sappey's news release stated.

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