Chattanooga Times Free Press - ChattanoogaNow
REMEMBERING THOSE WHO GAVE ALL
Whether you still call it Decoration Day or you know it as Memorial Day, the federal holiday will be observed on Monday, May 28.
Memorial Day carries more significance than just a day off from work or being considered the unofficial start of summer. It’s a day to remember those who gave all for their country.
Memorial Day is the day set aside to pay tribute to personnel who died while serving in the military. It’s not to be confused with Veterans Day, the federal holiday in November that honors all personnel who have served in the military.
Following are memorial services, special movie screenings, firework salutes and National Park Service programs taking place around the region in honor of the day.
PREPARING FOR MEMORIAL DAY
More than 2,000 Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, troop leaders and parents will come together on Saturday, May 26, to place U.S. flags on graves in Chattanooga National Cemetery.
Before Scouts spread out to place flags, they will gather for a ceremony at 8 a.m. at the Armed Forces Pavilion. The Choo-Choo Chorus will sing the national anthem to open the ceremony, and the Chattanooga Area Veterans Council Color Guard will close it with a 21-gun salute.
MEMORIAL DAY SERVICES
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The National Cemetery Administration is hosting Memorial Day ceremonies at national cemeteries across the country, and the Chattanooga National Cemetery is among them.
A Memorial Day service will be held at Chattanooga National Cemetery, 1200 Bailey Ave., on Monday at 2 p.m. ›
The East Ridge Memorial Day ceremony will be held at Pioneer Frontier Park beside East Ridge City Hall on Monday at 1 p.m.
American Legion Post 95 in East Ridge organizes this event in partnership with city personnel and Crestwood Garden Club. Cmdr. Larry Palmer will emcee.
During the ceremony, the Lester Norton Award for Patriotism will be presented to an East Ridge citizen for displaying patriotism.
MOVIE SALUTES MARINES
› What: “We, The Marines” › Where: Tennessee Aquarium Imax 3D Theatre, 201 Chestnut St. ›
When: 2 and 5 p. m. Friday- Monday, May 25-28 ›
Admission: $ 11.95 adults, $9.95 children; Aquarium/ Imax combo tickets $ 37.95 adults, $26.95 children ›
For more information: www. tnaqua.org
Just for Memorial Day weekend, the new Imax film “We, The Marines” will be shown twice daily from Friday through Monday.
The movie takes viewers on an action- packed adventure into the experience of becoming and serving as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps.
Narrated by Gene Hackman, Academy Award-winning actor and former Marine, the film uses the giant screen to honor the dedication, service and firsthand experiences of Marines.
“This film needed to have a documentary- newsreel kind of immediacy, an unstaged, unpolished, raw approach — like the Marines themselves,” says the film’s director, Greg MacGillivray.
“The result is less a set-up Hollywood-style film with carefully laidout and rehearsed shots and more a spontaneous, immediate, organic film that comes from real-life experience,” he describes.
Audiences will see grueling feats of strength and endurance in boot camp that prepare Marines for the stresses of life on the front lines. They’ll witness mountain training, parachute jumping, rappelling from helicopters and how K-9 units train side by side with Marines.