Memorial Day service at National Cemetery closed to public
The National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Cecil Township has fewer flags this Memorial Day as the National Cemetery Administration suspended that volunteer service to adhere to social distancing guidelines.
The National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Cecil Township, has fewer flags this Memorial Day.
The National Cemetery of the Alleghenies
This Memorial Day, there will be no mass gatherings or the traditional sea of red, white and blue flags marking veterans’ grave stones. But those men and women will still be honored and remembered this weekend.
“We will still honor our veterans, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Ed Hajduk, director for the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Cecil Township. “Speaking for myself as a veteran, this ceremony is very important for all of us.”
Hajduk served in the U.S. Navy from 1980 to 2008, spending six years active, and 22 years in the Navy reserves. He took over as cemetery director last fall.
Until the COVID-19 pandemic, he had been anticipating the usual crowd of close to 1,000 people for the annual Memorial Day service in the cemetery. This year, the service will be closed to the public, to maintain social distancing requirements.
The cemetery is open to the public for visitation this weekend, though people are encouraged to consider visiting Saturday and Sunday to avoid large crowds showing up Monday.
“We cannot stop people from visiting,” Hajduk said. “People want to visit their loved ones.”
In a news release last week, the National Cemetery Administration said the “difficult decision” was made to not have public Memorial Day services across the nation. Instead, the cemeteries’ staff will have small wreath-laying ceremonies with the playing of “Taps.” The release states that pictures of the services will be shared on social media and some may even be live streamed.
The NCA also announced last week it won’t participate in the mass placement of flags at graves.
“NCA relies largely on volunteers for placement and retrieval of gravesite flags for Memorial Day, and these activities attract thousands of volunteers annually,” the release states. “Limiting the number of volunteers is not practical.”
In an email, Les MeInyk, chief of public affairs and outreach for the NCA, said visitors to the cemeteries over the weekend are welcome to “place individual flags on graves to honor friends and family.
“We ask that all visitors adhere to CDC, state and local health, safety, and travel guidelines,” he said in the email.