THE AVENUE OF FLAGS

 

The Avenue of Flags, now in its thirty-eight year, is a stunning display of patriotism and is the largest display of memorial flags in the United States.  The flags are flown on both sides of the graveled roads winding through Orange Grove-Graceland Cemetery, on Broad Street in Lake Charles, each Memorial Day and Veterans Day. The flags are raised at sunrise and retired at 4:00 p.m. prior to sunset. Visitors are welcome to tour the Avenue of Flags by either walking alongside the winding, gravel roads, or driving in their vehicles. C-Gov TV Station videos and broadcasts the Memorial Day event each year for local residents who are unable to attend in person.

 

The mission of the Avenue of the Flags is to respectfully display the American flag on Memorial Day and Veterans Day to honor our United States veterans of all branches of the military, past and present. The project was started in 1983 by the Oliver Pollock Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR).  The then president of the organization, the late Dr. Rex Smelser, envisioned it as becoming the largest display of United States flags in the nation.  Beginning with just 50 flags that first year, it has now grown to over 1,050 in number. The Avenue of Flags has been recognized and honored with awards, including an official ‘Southern Travel Treasure’ by Southern Traveler in 2009, and the ‘Top 20 Events in the Southeast’ in 2004, 2012, 2013, and 2015 by the Southeast Tourism Society.

 

Each of the flags represents an individual veteran and is the official "casket flag" presented to the family at the funeral.  Each flag is numbered, and information about the veteran is catalogued for reference. The families have in turn loaned or donated the flags to the SAR for use in the patriotic Avenue of Flags display. In addition to the memorial flags, the Avenue of Flags also features a history circle where replicas of eight previous United States flags are flown.  The memorial flags measure 5 feet by 9 ½ feet and are generally found to be too large for proper display at home.

 

Annually, on Memorial Day, a recently deceased veteran is memorialized in a very special, moving ceremony that morning in the cemetery where his or her flag is hoisted on a pole, and a eulogy is given along with other patriotic speeches and patriotic music. SAR members from around the state come to participate dressed in colonial military uniforms. All five branches of the military have representatives in attendance along with the Lake Charles Mayor and the Bishop of the Diocese of Lake Charles. On Veterans Day, the Avenue of Flags is erected for viewing, but services are not commenced.

 

The SAR members, and many other volunteers from several other organizations including, but not limited to, local Boy Scout troops, local Cub Scout troops, ROTC, The Blue Knights, Army Reserve, US Coast Guard, Marine Corp League, LA National Guard, American Legion, local businesses, etc., erect the display on each Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Each year, a local Boy Scout completes his final project to become an Eagle Scout, enhancing the Avenue of Flags. The Flags are stored at the Avenue of Flags warehouse facility at Orange-Grove Cemetery in downtown Lake Charles when not being flown. Local dry-cleaning owners donate their services after the Memorial Day and Veterans Day events to have flags cleaned, as needed.

 

 

                       FLAGS ARE MADE TO FLY