Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
VIRUS closes cemetery ceremony to public.
FAYETTEVILLE — People will still be able to visit Fayetteville National Cemetery in person, just not the Memorial Day ceremony.
The ceremony will be held privately early in the morning and recorded. Cemetery officials plan to post it to Facebook by 11 a.m., which is when the ceremony usually begins.
Even with Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s orders in place to open some public gatherings including funerals, the cemetery is federal property. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Central Office in Washington halted committal services at national cemeteries March 23 and put a hold on programs such as wreath laying and flag placing.
People are still free to visit national cemeteries in groups of fewer than 10 and place wreaths and flags on their own, as long as they stay 6 feet apart from others.
Skip Solomon, cemetery director, said he knows families travel to visit their loved ones on the holiday.
As unfortunate as the situation is, the cemetery has to follow federal instruction to help prevent the spread of covid-19.
That’s why the cemetery wants to provide an online option, he said.
“Even though we know we can’t do a ceremony, we do care,” Solomon said. “We are going to do our best to do something to honor our veterans.”
The cemetery will record a wreath laying ceremony, with brief remarks from Veterans Affairs officials and a moment of silence, followed by the playing of “Taps.”
The pandemic hasn’t had much of an effect on construction of the cemetery’s expansion, Solomon said.
When completed, the site will have more in-ground casket plots, places for oversized caskets and private vaults, an in-ground cremation section and columbarium. In total, there will be close to 2,000 more grave sites. Construction should wrap in October.
Memorial Day is about more than a ceremony, said Jannie Layne, president of Bo’s Blessings, a local charitable organization for veterans and their families. Layne’s son, James “Bo” Allen Swearingen II, is buried at the cemetery. He served 12 years in the Army, leaving as a sergeant first class. Swearingen and his wife, Lori, were killed in 2010 in a motorcycle collision.
The pandemic has a silver lining, Layne said. Rather than focus on the ceremonial aspects of the day, people can spend more time thinking about its purpose: remembering those who served the nation, she said.
“We’ve all had an opportunity to slow down and reflect on the things that are important in our lives,” Layne said. “I visit the National Cemetery frequently. I don’t wait for Memorial Day to go to my son’s grave or to visit my friends and family that are buried there.”
Layne reiterated the cemetery is open every day, from sun up to sun down. It’s easy for people to get lost in the haze of barbecues or boating excursions on the extended weekend. With the change in behavior because of the pandemic, Layne hopes people might take a more reflective approach to the day and visit on their own time.
“It’s a chance to think about the reason they have those freedoms,” Layne said.
People who would rather stay home on Memorial Day can still pay tribute to those who served.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has a website set up for people to create online memorials.
The cemetery’s advisory committee in charge of organizing programs had a “fullscale” ceremony planned before the pandemic prompted shutdowns across the state, said Chuck Atkins, the committee’s president. Atkins encouraged people to visit on their own time but emphasized the importance of adhering to social distancing guidelines.
One program that did get the go-ahead from Washington, however, was the Roll of Honors. Every five years, volunteers read the names of all 11,000 veterans and their families interred at the site.
Two podiums were set up more than 6 feet apart at the shelter where services are usually held. Speakers alternated reading names, with no audience present.
The readings took place over 30 hours Friday, Saturday and today.
“The honorable reading of the names, fortunately, is something we can do because of the small density of people there at one time,” Atkins said.
The purpose of the ceremony was to ensure those interred at the National Cemetery have their names spoken aloud and aren’t forgotten, Atkins said.
“That’s, to me, what’s important on Memorial Day: to honor and remember those who have served our nation, with many of them not being able to come home,” he said. “They laid their lives down so we can continue to enjoy our everyday freedoms.
“I look forward to next year, though,” Atkins said.