News A Memorial Day Tradition on the Common Endures by Beacon Hill Times Staff • May 28, 2020 • 0 Comments City of Boston Veteran ServicesVolunteers planted 1,000 American flags overnight to commemorate Memorial Day at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on the Boston Common. The annual tradition, which dates back to 2010 and is organized Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund, typically includes the planting of more than 37,000 flags on the Common to represent every Massachusetts service member who died defending their country since the Revolutionary War. This year, however, far fewer flags were erected six feet a part from each other in keeping with social distancing.