For as long as anyone can remember the Troop & Cub Scout Pack 74, North Dartmouth from Smith Mills Church, has spent a weekend before Memorial Day replacing the American flags at Elm Street Cemetery.

And on Saturday, May 25, they were back out there again along with Dartmouth Veteran Service Officer Matthew Brouillette.

Boy Scout Benjamin Camacho said, “It’s to pay respects to the people who sacrifice for our country and it's just a nice thing to do for the cemetery itself.”

As the scouts walk through the cemetery, they search for signs that the graves belong to those who served in the military, such as a medallion symbol, Benjamin said. 

Gina Camacho, who was helping lead the pack, said the sacrifices these soldiers have made “mean a lot,” adding, “It’s nice that the scouts come out and pay their respects.”

Boy Scout Aiden McGuire, 8, said participating in memorial day services helps him learn about history, especially the wars.

“It’s one of the best holidays,” McGuire said.

It was a sunny morning, which David Rucker, who was there accompanying his son Boy Scout Ace Rucker, 7, said he was grateful for as the event had been postponed from its original date due to inclement weather. 

“I was in the army,” David said. “I did have a friend of mine who passed away in Afghanistan. So for me, it's a day that I have to remember and be thankful that we're here.”

He added, “We're alive and the freedom that they gave us certainly didn't come free.”

The town’s annual Memorial Day parade takes place on Monday, May 27.