With Memorial Day coming up, there will be four free special ceremonies hosted by the Virginia Department of Veterans Services on May 29 that the public is welcome to attend.
In Richmond, the Commonwealth’s Memorial Day Ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. in the E. Bruce Heilman Amphitheater at the Virginia War Memorial, 621 South Belvidere Street, Richmond, Va. 23220.
This is the 67th consecutive year that the Virginia War Memorial has hosted this annual official state tribute to all American service members who gave the ultimate sacrifice while serving in our Armed Forces from the Revolutionary War to today and to remember the family members they left behind.
Scheduled speakers at the Commonwealth’s Memorial Day Ceremony include Virginia Secretary of Veteran and Defense Affairs, the Honorable Craig Crenshaw and the Adjutant General of Virginia, Major General Timothy Williams. Virginia War Memorial Director Dr. Clay Mountcastle will serve as Master of Ceremonies, and patriotic music will be provided by the 29th Division Band of the Virginia National Guard.
Veteran service organizations and other groups are invited to participate in the annual laying of wreaths in the Memorial’s Shrine of Memory-20th Century. Prospective participants should contact the Virginia War Memorial for more details at 804-786-2060.
Members of the public attending the Commonwealth’s Memorial Day Ceremony are advised to arrive by 10:30 a.m. to be seated in the Heilman Amphitheater. Free parking is available onsite and in the Afton Chemical Company surface lot at Belvidere and Spring Streets.
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The Commonwealth’s Memorial Day Ceremony will also be broadcast live on CBS6 television in Richmond and livestreamed on Facebook. For more information and updates, visit www.vawarmemorial.org or www.dvs.virginia.gov or call 804-786-2060.
Memorial Day Ceremonies will also be held at Virginia’s three states veterans' cemeteries.
In Amelia at the Virginia Veterans Cemetery, the ceremony will begin at 10:00 a.m. The speaker will be Army veteran Colonel Bobby Arnold. The cemetery is located at 10300 Pridesville Road, Amelia Court House, VA 23002.
In Dublin at the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery, the ceremony will begin at 11:00 a.m. The speaker will be former Chief Master Sergeant of the US Air Force, Air Force veteran Rodney McKinley. The cemetery address is 5550 Bagging Mill Road, Dublin, VA 24084.
In Suffolk at the Albert G. Horton, Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery, the ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. The speaker will be Major General Jerry F. Prochaska, U.S. Army, Deputy Director for the Joint Force Development and Design Center, J-7, Joint Staff, Suffolk. The address of the cemetery is 5310 Milners Road, Suffolk, VA 22334.
Prior to each cemetery ceremony, volunteers will place American flags on all gravesites. For more information on all of these ceremonies, visit www.dvs.virginia.gov.
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