Same respect, different methods
David Bailey attended Olive Branch’s annual Memorial Day ceremony for the first time last year. His granddaughters had been invited to sing with their choir, and he volunteered to place flags at veterans’ headstones. Bailey, who served in the Navy during the Vietnam War, recalled the ceremony being moving, and he looked forward to attending this year.
But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he’ll have to watch it from home. His wife, Diana, will attend as a presenter who will read names of fallen veterans and play taps on a trumpet.
For Bailey, not being able to attend with his wife has only added to his sadness about not being there.
“I guess the best way to explain how it feels is like we see tornadoes or floods on television and you feel sorry for the people,” Bailey said. “But you don’t really have the effect of the tornado unless you’re there. This service is the same way.
“If you’re out there and you actually view (the ceremony) and the emotions of the people who are there, you really feel it in your heart what’s going on.”
With social distancing affecting traditional Memorial Day plans, some groups have changed how they are handling ceremonies Monday.
West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery allowed volunteers to place flags at headstones, but will hold a drive-thru ceremony on Monday. There
Memorial Day ceremonies
Rules: The ceremony will be drive-thru only where guests can remain inside their vehicle or stand beside it.
West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery
Where: 4000 Forest Hill Irene Road, Memphis
Time: 11:30 a.m. Monday
Where to watch: The ceremony is closed to public, but it will be livestreamed on Olive Branch’s Facebook page as well as the Desoto County News Room Facebook page.
Blocker Cemetery in Olive Branch
Time: 9 a.m. Monday
will be a prayer along with the playing of “Taps” and bagpipes, and visitors can observe and listen from inside their vehicles.
“People were grateful that something was going to be done. A few people said that they didn’t know if they’d be able to make it, but they were excited that (this format) was going to be attempted,” said Russell Johnson, secretary for the cemetery’s support group.
Olive Branch’s ceremony will be held at Blocker Cemetery, but with a small group of 20 people as allowed by Mississippi guidelines. For the first time, the ceremony will be livestreamed on both the city and Desoto County’s Newsroom’s Facebook pages.
Dave Szymanski, the ceremony coordinator, said it will be strange speaking into a camera instead of a full crowd, but he also sees the benefits for an event that has grown over the past eight years.
“When one door closes, another opens,” Szymanski said. “We’ve been trying to get the word out for eight years. This year, we have the potential of reaching many more, (especially) those who can’t physically attend.”
The changes have brought mixed reactions. Bailey is looking forward to watching but wondered if the emotional impact will be the same.
“Having experienced it, I’ll be able to reflect on being there but I’m not really sure what kind of effect it’ll have on people just watching it for the first time,” Bailey said.
For Sue O’brien, who has attended the Olive Branch ceremony each year, the change meant she can’t present the “missing man table,” which honors fallen soldiers, prisoners of war and veterans missing in action.
As the daughter of a World War II bomber pilot and the widow of a Vietnam veteran, O’brien took pride in sharing it the past two years while reciting a poem that explains each symbol on the table.
Even without being there, she sees the positives of more people, especially senior citizens, being able to watch online.
“The setup wasn’t always conducive to getting those seniors to the tents to be able to watch the program,” O’brien said. “I’m looking forward to the online event and hopefully share that with some of the seniors that have never seen it before.”
Alan Wier looked forward to helping place flags in the ground leading up and into the cemetery. Each flag has a plaque honoring a service member with name, rank and service branch.
Among the flags Wier placed each year included one for his father, who fought in World War II.
This year, if he does it, he’ll take precautions by wearing gloves and mask due to living with his 89-year-old mother, Jeanne.
She lives two hours away in Goodman, Mississippi, but for the past two months, she’s stayed with Wier during the pandemic. Now on Monday, she’ll be able to watch the ceremony for first time instead of just hearing about it from her son.
Although he’s disappointed he won’t be there, Wier saw the positive in showing his mother what he experienced in person and being able to share the emotions with her.
“I wouldn’t have gone and gotten her two hours away and brought her up here,” Wier said.
“I would’ve just taken pictures of the flag of my Dad. This is actually a benefit of having it broadcasted.”