May 20-June 3, 2023 Field of Flags/Flags of Remembrance

Doug Chaffin, Chairman of the River Raisin National Battlefield Park Foundation, announced the annual Flags of Remembrance display will take place from Saturday May 20, 2023 through Saturday June 3, 2023 at 333 North Dixie., Monroe, MI 48162.   

Chairman Chaffin said, “It is tradition at the Battlefield to fly 500 flags to honor and remember all those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their nation.  Millions of Americans have fought and died on battlefields to defend our freedom and ensure our safety.  The 2023 Flags of Remembrance Memorial is dedicated to all those who have answered the call of their Nation to defend, protect and selflessly pay the ultimate sacrifice.    

We hope you will join the National Park Service, DTE Energy Foundation, First Merchants Bank, La-Z-Boy Incorporated, Kiwanis Club of Monroe, City of Monroe Firefighters, Monroe County Sheriff Department, and the Battlefield’s Boy Scout Troop 547 in saluting and thanking all those who continue to rise to the occasion and serve on the front lines to protect us during these challenging times.” 

River Raisin National Battlefield Park is Michigan’s largest battlefield and preserves and protects the sacred soil that became the final resting place of the largest number of United States soldiers killed in a single battle during the War of 1812.  In 1813, Robert B. McAfee arrived at the River Raisin months after the battle and recalled:  

“The bleaching bones still appealed to heaven and called on Kentucky…We had heard the scene described before – we now witnessed it, in these impressive memorials . . . Future generations will often ponder on this fatal field of blood, and the future inhabitants of Frenchtown will long point out to the curious traveler…”