Virginian residents have the opportunity to be a part of the inaugural “Say Their Names Marathon” to honor the nearly 12,000 men and women killed in combat while serving in the military from World War II to the present.
The names of 12,000 Virginians are permanently engraved on the glass and stone walls of the Shrine of Memory at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond.
“Our greatest mission at the Virginia War Memorial is to recognize, remember and honor the Virginia heroes who died fighting for our Commonwealth and our Nation,” said Clay Mountcastle, Virginia War Memorial director. “We pursue and fulfill this mission not just on Memorial Day, but every day of the year.”
Every year, thousands of people visit the Virginia War Memorial to view the names listed by conflict and by the Virginia locality they each called home.
This Memorial Day, May 26, the Virginia War Memorial will initiate a new and unique way to honor and remember those Virginians – the “Say Their Names Marathon” – following its annual Memorial Day Ceremony.
The Virginia War Memorial, a division of the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, will host its 69th annual Commonwealth’s Memorial Day Ceremony at 11 a.m. on May 26 in the Heilman Amphitheater.
At the conclusion of the annual Commonwealth’s Memorial Day Ceremony, at approximately 12:45 p.m., Virginians who have volunteered will begin reading aloud the names of every person whose name is listed in the Shrine of Memory.
With each reader assigned to read fifty names, the marathon will continue nonstop in the order in which they are listed in the Shrine of Memory. It is estimated that the marathon will take up to 12 hours to complete and end around 12:30 a.m. on May 27.
Members of the public who are interested in becoming a reader in the inaugural “Say Their Names Marathon” will need to register online to secure their slot from the more than 200 slots available to complete the marathon.
All participants must register online, as there will be no walk-up readers accommodated on the day of the event.
“There is a quote often attributed to Ernest Hemingway that reads, ‘Every man has two deaths, when he is buried in the ground and the last time someone says his name. In some ways, men can be immortal.’ By reading these names aloud during our inaugural Say Their Names Marathon, we can assure that each of those included here are remembered by all who hear them,” said Mountcastle.
Admission to the Virginia War Memorial, located at 621 South Belvidere St., Richmond, is free and free parking is available. The interior of the Virginia War Memorial will be open for visitation on Memorial Day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Memorial grounds and Shrine of Memory will be open until the conclusion of the “Say Their Names Marathon.” For more information visit www.vawarmemorial.org.