WASHINGTON – Memorial Day observances across the country on May 26 will find the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) celebrating the sacrifices of men and women who died for their country in recent months, as well as long ago.
“Joyous as the homecomings are for members of our armed forces who prevailed in the battle to liberate Iraq, we also somberly recognize that the cream of our young generation has paid freedom’s ultimate price,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi. “In our national cemeteries, we will pay tribute to those who lie in freshly dug graves next to heroes from earlier generations.”
Principi called on Americans to pause at 3 p.m., local time, for a National Moment of Remembrance. That moment of reflection was recognized by an act of Congress to put the "memorial" back in Memorial Day and honor America’s fallen heroes.
Memorial Day ceremonies are planned at VA national cemeteries and some VA medical centers around the country. Twenty-seven veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom have been buried to date in at least 18 national cemeteries.
The HoustonNationalCemetery expects nearly 10,000 people at a program that will feature a military flyover and a display of historical and current military vehicles.
At Dayton, the VA medical center hosts a parade through the grounds that ends in time for a ceremony in an adjacent national cemetery. Motorcycle riders -- members of Rolling Thunder, who advocate for America’s missing-in-action service members -- will ride in the parade. Other Rolling Thunder motorcyclists will place a wreath at the POW/MIA flag in the Mountain Home, Tenn., NationalCemetery on their way to Washington, D.C.
Motorcyclists and owners of antique cars will cruise the streets of Augusta, Ga., on May 25 and each will contribute a gift for a veteran hospitalized at the VA medical center as an entry fee for the ride. In southern California, West Coast Thunder motorcyclists will ride into the town of Riverside, where they will form a parade led by an honor guard to the VA cemetery for a program keynoted by Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran, Pvt. Fernando Gonzalez. Some 2,000 motorcyclists are expected.
The 50th anniversary of the end of the Korean War will be observed at many national cemeteries. At the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix, a Korean dance group from nearby Sedona will perform a “Prayer for Peace.”
At Port Hudson, La., NationalCemetery, World War II veteran James Jacocks will continue his annual tradition -- begun in 1947 -- of leading Boy Scouts and their parents in placing American flags on 11,000 gravesites. Jacocks, 75, makes lemonade every year to reward the Scouts for their hard work. He said he expects to continue this Memorial Day ritual as long as he can walk.
A campaign involving students in the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project continues to capture the experience of veterans on taped interviews. Memorial Day will mark the kickoff of a “summer of service” at nine VA medical centers. VA voluntary service staff and volunteers will train teenaged students to work with local veterans, using computers to produce short digital movies about their war experiences.
This Memorial Day also finds volunteers continuing to inventory military memorials and monuments in VA’s national cemeteries. Over the past year, 215 people volunteered to write descriptions and gather historical information about more than 400 of VA’s 425 memorials in cemeteries. Principi said documenting history through memorials is part of VA’s commitment to maintaining its cemeteries as national shrines.
He said planning for the future needs for more burial space for veterans in some locations will be the focal point of some Memorial Day activities. The new IndianaVeteransMemorialCemetery in Madison will be dedicated May 26. A $5.6 million VA grant supported establishment of the state cemetery.
At many national cemetery observances, speakers will acknowledge veterans who did not have military funeral honors at their interment services because they did not have family or friends to request honors or even to attend the services. VA’s “Forgotten Heroes” program brings out volunteer teams of veterans to render funeral honors for those veterans.
