Public invited to Wicomico’s annual Memorial Day Ceremony

SALISBURY, Md. – On the morning of Memorial Day, the public is invited to honor Wicomico County veterans who have died in the line of duty at the 16th annual Memorial Day Ceremony.

The ceremony is set for Monday, May 28, at 10 a.m., and it will take place at the Wicomico War Veterans' Memorial in front of the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center. All are welcome and encouraged to attend this free event, which is organized by members of the Wicomico County War Memorial Committee. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved inside to the Civic Center’s Midway Room.

As part of the ceremony, there will be a lowering of the colors by the Wicomico County JROTC, ringing of the Red Knights Memorial Bell, branch prayers, and a volley of arms by the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office. Veterans, as well as their families, will be recognized during the ceremony, including a special family tribute to Gold Star Mothers. War Memorial Committee members will perform the Reading of Veterans’ Names, which recognizes those Wicomico County residents who have fallen in the line of service. The Reading of Veterans’ Names is organized by Sgt. Ed Tattersall, U.S. Army, a committee member.

In 2002, a group of veterans from all branches of the military came together to honor and preserve the memory of Wicomico County’s fallen heroes. As a result, the Wicomico War Veterans' Memorial was erected at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center, which is itself a living war memorial to all veterans. Flags from each service branch, along with a United States, Maryland, Wicomico County and the POW-MIA flag, now proudly fly over a brick wall displaying bronze plaques with the names of Wicomico County’s fallen veterans beginning with World War I.

The Wicomico County War Memorial Committee has continued the work it began in 2002. Committee members are actively seeking information on those listed on the memorial. If you have information to share about a fallen serviceperson, please email Janice von Paris at jvparis@wicomicocounty.org.

To help preserve the memorial and honor a loved one who has or is serving, citizens may purchase a Tree of Honor Gold Leaf. Engraved with his or her name and a short message, the leaf will be displayed on the Veterans' Tree of Honor in the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center lobby. Leaves are $100 each. To purchase a leaf, please contact Janice von Paris at 410-548-4900, ext. 115. All proceeds are placed in a fund designated to maintain the War Memorial into perpetuity.

To learn more about the Wicomico War Veterans’ Memorial and the men and women it was built to honor, visit http://www.wicomicociviccenter.org/about-the-center/war-memorial.