NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A longtime a Memorial Day weekend tradition by the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts of placing flags on the graves of veterans is now canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But there are calls to bring it back, especially on Long Island, which has two national cemeteries where more than half a million veterans are buried.
"This virus has taken a lot from us and we're not gonna be able to commemorate Memorial Day and America's heroes the way that we normally do, but at the very least we have to be able to honor them this Memorial Day by doing the simple act of placing the American flags at their graves," Bellone told WCBS 880's Lynda Lopez in an interview Wednesday. "I think that's very important, particularly in a year where we're commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. This is America's Greatest Generation and while we're not gonna have parades and ceremonies like we normally do, at least we should be able to honor these heroes by placing a flag at at their graves at our national cemeteries."
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The Department of Veteran Affairs has raised concerns, pointing out that Long Island hasn't met the criteria to reopen, but Bellone said they can carry out this tradition safely.
"What I said to the VA is don't issue a blanket policy where you cannot have volunteers putting flags at the graves of our heroes," Bellone said. "Allow the local national cemeteries to work with the health department at the local level to have a safety plan in place. We can do this safely. This is out in the open, these national cemeteries are huge grounds and there is a very easy way for us to do this in a way that is practicing social distancing, people wearing face coverings, but if our generation can't figure out a way to do the simple act of placing flags on Memorial Day to honor these heroes, you know to honor the Greatest Generation, what does that say about us? This is something we can do and we must do."
All VA national cemeteries will be open Memorial Day weekend from dawn to dusk for public visitation. The agency said that means there could be an unknown number of people at any given time at the cemetery, which could make it a challenge to social distance if the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were to uphold this longstanding tradition.
"This is just a matter of figuring out the logistics," Bellone said. "We have thousands of volunteers who will do this every year — the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts — that are ready to do this. We can do it safely, we just have to spread it out over time. Usually it's done within an hour — they are able to blanket the cemetery and put those flags out — but we can do this over a longer period of time and do it safely and still be able to honor the people who have sacrificed for our country this Memorial Day."
Cemetery visitors are asked to adhere to health and safety guidelines and maintain physical distancing while visiting. Families may continue the tradition of placing flowers and small American flags at their veteran’s gravesite.