Field of Flags- Massachusetts Volunteers Mark Memorial Day By Planting 37,000 Flags on Boston Common

37,000 American Flags on the Boston Common in remembrance of fallen Massachusetts soldiers on this Memorial Day. pic.twitter.com/zHRmshjSaT

— BostonTweet (@BostonTweet) May 26, 2014

For the 5th straight year, the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund honored Bay State veterans by planting nearly 37,000 flags on a gentle slope adjacent to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Boston Common. The number represents every service member from the Commonwealth who was killed in action- ranging from Lexington to today's War on Terrorism.

Volunteers are scheduled to tend to the field throughout the weekend and answer any questions visitors may have. According to the MMHF, the slots for volunteers tending to the Boston Common flag garden filled quickly. The thousands of flags served as a backdrop for a weekend ceremony honoring the 205 individuals from Massachusetts that were killed in the line of duty since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund was established in 2009 as a means to support family members of post 9/11 servicemen and women with ties to Massachusetts who died in combat. According to the Boston Globe the rippling sea of red, white and blue in the shadow of the Soldiers and Sailor's Monument has drawn visitors from Gold Star families throughout New England.