'So we don't forget': Sharpsburg students lay 5,000 flags at Antietam National Cemetery

Not quite as neat as the soldiers who marched the same grounds 180 years prior, the 50 children walked along Sharpsburg's Main Street under patriotic bunting heading toward Antietam National Cemetery.

“I've talked to many, many adults, grown adults, that remember as a kid coming here and doing this, and that's the whole point,” Keith Snyder, a park ranger and chief of resource education and visitor services for Antietam National Cemetery, told the Herald-Mail on Thursday.

In a tradition that goes back more than 50 years, the Sharpsburg Elementary School fifth-grade class placed 5,000 American flags at the tombstones in the Antietam National Cemetery that morning. The ceremony rang in the upcoming Memorial Day weekend by commemorating the soldiers buried there whose service spanned across every U.S. conflict from the Civil War to the Korean War.

Snyder, speaking to the students, said that by placing a flag at each gravesite, they would be “honoring these men.” He asked that while placing the flags, the students take time “to reflect on what this weekend really means.”

“It's Memorial Day weekend and it's a little bit more than just picnics and hotdogs,” Snyder said to the students. “It is a special weekend to remember those that have given their lives for our freedoms, for the ability to come out and join today, especially on a beautiful morning.”

What did the kids have to say?

In the shade of Douglas firs and Norway maples, the students rushed in pairs of two to wedge flags in front of the bone-white tombstones. Up against the clock, they tried to beat last year's time of 47 minutes, falling short at 60 minutes because of drought-hardened ground.

Ryder Harshaw and Tanner Harrell, both 11, broke out ahead of the pack in terms of speed, graciously speaking with the Herald-Mail at the sake of lost time.

Echoing Snyder's remarks, Harshaw said the point of Memorial Day is to commemorate fallen soldiers, “so we don’t forget soldiers who died in war for us.”

Harrell agreed, adding that commemorating history builds a bridge to the present.

“It's because they battled for our freedoms and make us where we are and who we are today,” Harrell said.

More on kids learning: Civil War reenactors bring history to life at Bester Elementary

Snyder enlisted the help of members of the 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard, of which he was formerly colonel, to help the kids stake the flags in the ground.

Myrissa Everhart, a master sergeant in the 167th who handed out flags to students, said by being there, active duty members were “essentially representing everybody that’s served.”

“They wouldn’t have the rights that they have if we didn't have the history that we have, so letting them know ahead of time before they get to a bigger age where they have questions is important,” Everhart said.

Where does it all fit in?

The cemetery was erected in 1867 on the fifth anniversary of the Battle of Antietam — the bloodiest single-day battle of the Civil War. Buried there are 4,776 Union soldiers, still only a fraction of the 23,000 total casualties recorded that day.

Overlooking the expansive battlefield, the cemetery also holds the remains of roughly 200 hundred additional soldiers who served during the Spanish-American War, World War I and II and the Korean War.

Additionally, buried there is Keedysville resident and Navy Fireman Apprentice Patrick Howard Roy, who died in the 2000 terrorist bombing of the USS Cole. The cemetery officially closed to new interments in 1953, but an exception was made for Roy due to his close ties to the area.

Ashley Stotelmeyer, a teacher in the enrichment program at Sharpsburg Elementary, said the Civil War is highlighted in the fifth-grade curriculum, building off American history laid out through the years prior. She added that living in Sharpsburg, “it’s a hard history to avoid” because of the close proximity to the battlefield.

“We learn these lessons from history, but sometimes we don't necessarily apply them to our daily lives, how we can make an impact and honoring the past and protecting people present and in the future,” Stotelmeyer said.

Stotelmeyer, who has been at Sharpsburg Elementary for the past five years, said the students take the tradition very seriously. She said they understand the flag laying has a long history — how long, no one knows exactly — and that they recognize the importance of commemorating veterans, regardless of in which century they served.

“I think that all of those steps have led us here,” Stotelmeyer said. “We need to learn the lessons from them, so we can't forget the sacrifices.”

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Sharpsburg fifth graders ring in Memorial Day with 5,000 flags