Volunteers placed more than 1,500 flags at the grave sites of veterans who are buried in Northern Virginia over Memorial Day weekend.

The volunteers, members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, have marked each grave for the past several years, member Ken Fleming said Monday. It took about five days to place them at sites in Loudoun, Fauquier, Prince William and Clarke counties.

“The Sons of Confederate Veterans, several years ago, started marking the graves of confederate soldiers because they weren’t being marked,” Fleming said. “It was during that time that we realized flags weren’t going out for American veterans of any war other than what family members were putting out. So we started putting out American flags ourselves.”

More than 400 Confederate flags were placed at the Union Cemetery, in Leesburg, Fleming said. There were too many American flags to count.

“When you see those flags fluttering in the breeze, if it doesn’t bring a lump to your throat, you ain’t living,” he said.

Fleming said the marking of the graves is very educational. A lot of people pass grave sites every day without knowing anything about the person.

“All of a sudden it becomes a monument to someone who fought for the right to allow you that freedom,” Fleming said. “You realize real quickly that freedom isn’t free when you see those flags fluttering on those soldiers' graves. Somebody paid the price for everything we do and they did it in blood.”