Flowers For Heroes Places Flowers on 5K Graves at Gettysburg

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg National Cemetery in Pennsylvania was a sea of red, white, and blue this July 4th.

A non-profit group called Flowers for Heroes marked the holiday by placing bouquets of flowers at thousands of graves at the historic Soldiers National Cemetery in south-central Pennsylvania.

Beginning at 7:30 a.m., representatives of Flowers for Heroes handed out red, white, and blue bouquets to visitors to place in front of the headstones. Volunteers from the community as well as local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts assisted the group’s effort to honor over 5,000 graves with flowers.

On their website, www.flowersforheroes.org, Flowers for Heroes allows people to sponsor bouquets that will be placed on the headstones at various military cemeteries around the nation. This is only part of their effort to show their support to America’s defenders. Proceeds also go towards supporting Gold Star families who often struggle because of the sacrifices their family members made protecting our country.

"I was touched by the participation of the Gettysburg community," said Flowers for Heroes founder, Russ Phillip, Jr. "The efforts of Flowers for Heroes are minimal without the support of our fellow Americans. This is crucial to reaching our goal of leaving no fallen American soldier without recognition of their sacrifices and patriotism."

More than 3,500 Union soldiers are buried at Gettysburg, also known as Soldiers’ National Cemetery. Veterans from later conflicts are also buried there.

For more information about the Flowers for Heroes organization, upcoming events, and ways to become involved, please visit www.flowersforheroes.org.