Memorial Day commemoration back to basics
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The planners of this year's Memorial Day's commemoration aim to fire up the heartstrings and the tear ducts by keeping the focus on what Memorial Day is all about: remembering those who have fought and fallen. This is a photo from last year’s celebration in West Jordan.
The city’s annual Memorial Day commemoration this year is less about the frills and more about honoring the military service and lives lost.
“I’m concentrating more on the ceremony this year and honoring the fallen than the displays, even though they are neat,” said Lt. Col. Brock McLean of the U.S. Army Reserve 96th Sustainment Brigade.
The commemoration will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday, May 28, at the Veterans Memorial Park military services monument at 1985 West 7800 South.
The highlight this year will be a flag-draped casket in a wagon pulled by black horses, with soldiers on each side of the wagon escorting the casket.
“We’re going to ask the Patriot Guard to line the route,” McLean said. “It will be just like a regular military funeral, but honoring all the fallen military throughout the years.”
It will be a short parade from one side of the park to the military services monument, and they would like people to line up and watch, McLean said.
They also have many other plans in the works, including guest speakers; the presenting of the colors and the 21-Gun Salute; the Fallen Soldier Battle Cross, which is a symbolic representation of a cross for soldier who has been killed, using an M16 with the bayonet stuck into the ground with two boots and a helmet on top, forming the cross.
“It’s going to be a very neat ceremony. It won’t be very long, but more in-depth. It’s going to be a really neat thing,” McLean said.
