Above: If you aren’t among the small group of authorized participants in the Town’s closed ceremony, please don’t head to the All Wars Memorial this morning. (photo by Susan Fitzgerald)
As I noted last week, Southborough won’t be holding a public ceremony today for Memorial Day.
By now, a small group of volunteers will have replaced graveside flags. This morning, a small contingent of veterans will gather (at a safe distance) to mark the occasion. The rest of us are asked to honor the day by keeping it safe for those involved and staying away.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t ways for us to observe the meaning of the day. At around 10:30, you can listen to the Church Bell salute as town churches peal their bells. (It’s being held in place of the 21 gun salute.)
Anyone with a flag at home can lower it at sunrise, then quickly raise it at noon.
Southborough Access Media will be recording the Town’ closed ceremony to share with the public. In the meantime, you can get a sneak peak. VFW Commander Steve Whynot shared the speech pre-recorded by Representative Carolyn Dykema for inclusion in the video. You can watch that here. He also shared the comments planned by American Legion Commander Dan Kolenda as part of the ceremony.*
You can watch past Memorial day parades and ceremonies from 2014-2019 recorded by SAM here.
*Updated (5/6/20 8:41 am): Commander Kolenda revised his speech after it was initially forwarded to me. Click here to read the updated version.
Taking a moment to remember Col. John Wilson. This is the 1st memorial day in Southboro since his passing. My thoughts have been with him and his family. Thank you to all our veterans.