The Arlington Veterans Park Foundation will begin an annual tradition of observing Memorial Day in the park on Monday, May 27, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. The location within the park will be at the Memorial to the Fallen, dedicated last November on Veterans Day.
Veterans Day honors all who have served in our military, while Memorial Day honors those who have died while defending our country and its values. Therefore, the mood of this service will focus on the sacrifice and patriotism of our fallen.
The Memorial to the Fallen honors the 110 young men who died in our country’s wars of the 20th and 21st centuries. Among those names are Col. Neel Kearby, who received the Medal of Honor in World War II, and Preston F. McKee, an early city mayor who died during World War I.
This first Memorial Day service will include remarks by U.S.N. Chaplain Rich Stoglin, who has performed the duty of informing Gold Star families of the loss of their loved ones. Mayor Jim Ross, a Marine Corps veteran, will address the attendees. Geraldine Mills of the Arlington Historical Society will present a plaque to Mayor Ross containing the names of Arlington Citizens who died in Vietnam. The plaque will be placed in the George W. Hawkes Library, replacing an earlier one that is lost.
A significant part of the ceremony will be the laying of a wreath at the Memorial to the Fallen. Family members of fallen service members will be invited to place a flower in the wreath after it is in place.
The UTA Maverick Battalion will present the colors. A special treat of this first Memorial Day ceremony will be patriotic music performed by members of the Arlington Community Band.
Memorial Day
Observance Program
Arlington Veterans Park
May 27th – 6pm
I. Welcome – MC
II. Presentation of Colors – UTA Maverick Battalion
III. Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance – Chaplain Rich Stoglin
IV. National Anthem
V. Retire the Colors
VI. Remarks – Chaplain Stoglin
VII. Acceptance of the Arlington Vietnam Casualty Plaque from the Fielder Museum – Geraldine Mills and Mayor Jim Ross
VIII. Remarks by Mayor Jim Ross
IX. Placing of the Wreath Honoring Arlington War Dead
X. Patriotic Music
XI. Benediction
XII. Dismissal with Taps
