Hundreds of American flags will be on display at Gaithersburg’s Bohrer Park during Memorial Day weekend. The annual event, known as Flags for our Heroes, honors members of the armed services, healthcare workers, first responders, as well as family members, doctors teachers, coaches, mentor, and community leaders.
This is the tenth year for the exhibit of eight-foot tall American flags. Three local Rotary Clubs organize the event with the support of the city of Gaithersburg.
Each of the 750 flags is sponsored by a person or organization. Residents and businesses are invited to honor their personal heroes by sponsoring a flag. Each flag honors a person who has made a difference in someone’s life.
This is an opportunity to honor a personal hero, a loved one, a friend, or someone who is serving or has served in the military. It cost $50 to sponsor a flag in someone’s memory. Each flag will display an honoree medallion with the name of a hero. After Memorial Day weekend, the medallions will be given to those who purchased them.
The Opening Ceremony takes place Saturday, May 27 at 11 a.m. and features entertainment. The flags will be on display until Monday, May 29 at 2 p.m. when they will be removed.
Rotary Club members are present all weekend, and members of local Scout troops guard the field at night. The Scouts will hold a flag retirement ceremony on Monday, May 29, at 6:30 p.m., to dispose of tattered flags. Members of the public may bring their flags to be disposed of in a dignified manner. The field of flags is lit at night.
Photos from Flags for our Heroes 2022.
In 2016, MyMCM talked with the exhibit’s organizers.
Proceeds from the event will benefit local initiatives supported by the Rotary Clubs, including Women Who Care Ministries and the W. Edward Bohrer Jr. Memorial Character Counts! Scholarship Fund, and the Black Physicians and Healthcare Network.
