Placing gravesite flags may be one of the most solemn and sacred honors our Scouts may take on and for generations the Scouts and Scouters of the San Diego-Imperial Council have been volunteering to place flags at cemeteries across our southernmost corner of the country. Generally, the flag placements occur on the Saturday before Memorial Day each year.
The Council Activities & Civic Service committee is working to develop a coordinated effort between local Scout units and all local cemeteries to provide this service on a consistent basis year after year. It is our hope that that this page will eventually list all interested cemeteries with a Scouter volunteer point of contact for site specific information regarding flag placements. If you help coordinate volunteers for an event that does not have a BSA point of contact listed here, please email danielletabbert@gmail.com to get your name added to the list. If your unit serves a site not listed here, please let us know and we’ll add the site to the list for others to serve as well. Keep your eye on this page for updates.
**All major cemeteries declined in-person volunteers for 2021 but now this wonderful opportunity for service is available once again. Download the general flag placement instructions HERE and review the contacts and instruction links for specific cemeteries below as they are available.
An additional activity for honoring veterans occurs in December and January each year. Wreaths Across America is an organization that seeks volunteers to place wreaths that they provide on the graves of veterans at some of the larger cemeteries in the county such as Fort Rosecrans and Miramar National Cemeteries. Glen Abbey, Greenwood and Singing Hills cemeteries also participate in this annual honoring of veterans. Both placement of the wreaths (December) and retrieval after the holiday season (January) requires volunteers. Additionally, units may sponsor the purchase of wreaths for their placement activity by doing a WAA fundraiser that returns $5 to the unit for every wreath sold. For more information about this activity contact the ACS Co-Chairs.
| Cemetery | BSA Point of Contact | Contact Information | Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cypress View Mausoleum | |||
| Dearborn Memorial Park, Poway | Pack 625 | Rancho Mesa | |
| El Cajon Cemetery, El Cajon | |||
| El Camino Memorial Park, San Diego | Reza Bashar T1648 | reza.bashar@hologic.com | Rancho Mesa/Coastal Sage |
| Eternal Hills Mortuary and Cemetery, Oceanside | Anthony Brillo T752 | AnthonyBrillo@gmail.com | Rancho San Luis Rey |
| Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma | Drew Payson T959 | drewpayson227@gmail.com | Coastal Sage |
| Glen Abbey Memorial Park | Toni Garza P863 | alto2tonie@hotmail.com | Sweetwater |
| Greenwood Memorial Park | |||
| Haven of Rest, Julian | POC name needed. Contact us, please. | Palomar | |
| Holy Cross Cemetery | Pack 280 | Coastal Sage | |
| La Vista Memorial Park and Mortuary, National City | |||
| Miramar National Cemetery | Unfortunately, this cemetery is not participating in flag placement for 2023. | ||
| Mount Hope Cemetery, San Diego | This cemetery is very interested in a unit to serve here. Contact us to volunteer. | Coastal Sage | |
| Mt. Olivet Cemetery, San Diego | |||
| Oak Hill Memorial Park | POC name needed. Contact us, please. | Palomar | |
| Oceanview Cemetery, Oceanside | |||
| Old Mission San Luis Rey Cemetery, Oceanside | |||
| Nuevo Memorial Gardens, Ramona | Troop 768 | Palomar | |
| San Marcos Cemetery, Escondido | POC name needed. Contact us, please. | Palomar | |
| San Pasqual Cemetery, San Pasqual | |||
| Santa Ysabel Cemetery, Santa Ysabel | |||
| Singing Hills Memorial Park, El Cajon | Danielle Tabbert P360 | danielletabbert@gmail.com | Foothills |
| Valley Center Cemetery, Valley Center |
