For Memorial Day weekend, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) National Cemetery Administration (NCA) invited veterans and members of the public to attend ceremonies at VA national cemeteries to honor and remember fallen service members, a VA press release said.
“On Memorial Day, we honor the service members who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation — and we pay our respects to the families and loved ones who mourn them and miss them dearly,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough, according to the press release. “This Memorial Day weekend, we encourage all Americans to join us in remembering these fallen heroes at VA national cemeteries, where so many of them rest.”
The VA invited veterans, family members, caregivers, and survivors–along with members of the public–to observe Memorial Day by attending a ceremony at any of more than 130 VA cemeteries across the nation. Many of these cemeteries featured wreath-laying ceremonies, patriotic speeches, music, a moment of silence and the playing of Taps.
VA leaders were present to oversee some of these ceremonies. McDonough presided over the wreath-laying at BG William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Wrightstown, NJ; Acting VA Deputy Secretary Guy Kiyokawa laid a wreath at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, in Newtown, PA; and Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Matt Quinn addressed attendees at a wreath-laying and flag-placing event at Annapolis National Cemetery in Annapolis, MD and spoke at the Albert G. Horton, Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery in Suffolk, VA.
The NCA currently oversees and maintains 155 national cemeteries and 34 soldiers’ lots and monument sites in 44 states and Puerto Rico. In addition, the VA’s Veterans Cemetery Grant Program funds 121 state, territorial and tribal cemeteries. Many of these locations hosted volunteers to place small American flags in front of veteran headstones in the days preceding Memorial Day. The volunteers were also encouraged to help in the removal and storage of these flags after the holiday weekend was over.
