The annual Veterans Day tradition of placing U.S. flags at Riverside National Cemetery to honor those who served and are buried there may not happen this year because of the U.S. government shutdown .

Volunteers gather a few days before Veterans Day — as well as before Memorial Day — to plant a small flag at each veteran’s grave. More than 270,000 flags are placed each Veterans Day, officials said.

A Flag for Every Hero is organized by Honoring Our Fallen , an Orange County-based nonprofit group dedicated to the nation’s fallen and the families left behind.

Its leaders warned volunteers online and on social media of the “potential cancellation” of the event, currently scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 8, at 8 a.m.

“This is due to circumstances beyond our control, and we are assessing

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