[StBernard] Memorial Day flags fly at Chalmette National Cemetery

[Westley Annis]

Memorial Day flags fly at Chalmette National Cemetery

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http://www.nola.com/military/index.ssf/2013/05/chalmette_national_cemetery_d
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(Gallery by Chris Granger, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Print By NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 

Memorial Day flags were placed Friday at every headstone in Chalmette
National Cemetery, where troops who served in conflicts ranging from the War
of 1812 to the Vietnam War are buried. Community volunteers helped The
National WWII Museum and Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
staff with the work.

A Memorial Day ceremony will be held Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Hosted by Vietnam
Veterans of VFW Post 3798, the program will include a color guard, bagpiper,
and remarks from post members.

A special living history program will be offered, "Remembering the Citizen
Soldier: A War of 1812 Militia Muster," on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00
a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Re-enactments will feature the life of ordinary soldiers
during the War of 1812 along with firing demonstrations, historic pastimes,
and cooking demonstrations.

Chalmette National Cemetery is located next to Chalmette Battlefield, the
site of the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. The cemetery and battlefield are
managed by the National Park Service as one of the six sites of Jean Lafitte
National Historical Park and Preserve.

More than 15,000 troops are buried at the cemetery, which was established in
1864 as a burial place for Union soldiers who died in Louisiana hospitals
during the Civil War.