The City of Lewiston helps to recruit volunteers to place almost 7,500 flags at the individual veteran’s gravestones within cemeteries within the city. 

Brief Background: The State passed a law in 2001 that requires municipalities to purchase and place individual American flags at the gravestone of every veteran buried in each cemetery located in that town. The flags must be in place for Memorial Day each year.  Lewiston has 13 cemeteries and places almost 7,500 flags. All work is done by community volunteers.  For many of the smaller cemeteries, the abutting neighbors usually place the flags each year. For the two largest cemeteries – Riverside and St. Peter’s, there are service organizations which have adopted these cemeteries over the years and take care of placing the flags for the City of Lewiston.

These groups welcome volunteers to assist them at the following locations. Volunteers do not need to sign up in advance; they are welcome to show up on the day of the event and will be provided instructions by the on-site coordinator(s).   

RIVERSIDE CEMETERY, 192 Summer Street, Lewiston

Saturday, May 18, 2024, 8:30 AM (rain date – Saturday, May 25, 9 AM)

The Knights of Columbus are the coordinators for this location. Contact is Leo Baillargeon at (207) 577-7424

There are approximately 1,600 flags for this location.

ST. PETER’S CEMETERY, 217 Switzerland Road, Lewiston

Saturday, May 18, 2024 (rain or shine) at 10 AM

Meet at the Mausoleum, St. Peter’s Cemetery, 217 Switzerland Road, Lewiston

Jerry DeWitt (207) 576-0376 is the contact person, and the L/A Veterans Council members are the coordinators for this location.   

There are approximately 4,000 flags for this location.

The plan is to assign teams of 5-10 volunteers to an area of the cemetery and to cover the cemetery in a grid fashion in order to not miss any stone. There is no master list of veterans buried at either cemetery, so volunteers will need to walk each row of stones and read the inscription on each gravesite.  If military service is listed on the stone, a flag will be placed there. This is a fairly time-consuming process so many volunteers are appreciated. 

Logistics:

Work gloves are optional but encouraged; volunteers should bring their own hand sanitizer if interested

Wear sneakers or boots in case the grass is wet

Bring a screwdriver to use to poke a hole in the grass.  It makes it much easier to place the wooden flag dowel into the ground if you make the hole first.

Plan to bring a water bottle if it is a hot day

Bring bug spray, hat and sunscreen; be mindful of ticks

Children/youth are encouraged to participate but must be accompanied by an adult 

Wearing company or organization t-shirts is welcome

Questions about the process can be directed to the Lewiston City Clerk’s Office (207) 513-3124, or volunteers can reach out to the event coordinators directly.