Memorial Day ceremony going online
Collaboration for the virtual service will retain traditions and tributes to local fallen
Local organizations are hosting online ceremonies to celebrate Memorial Day amid the COVID-19 pandemic this year.
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and the Williamsburg Chapter of Sons of the American Revolution partnered for their first virtual Memorial Day ceremony. The commemorative program will be available 10 a.m. Monday on Colonial Williamsburg’s webpage at colonialwilliamsburg.org/ events/memorial- daycommemorative-program.
The two organizations hold a Memorial Day ceremony together each year. Their previous ceremonies included a procession with wreath layings at the Revolutionary War cemetery on the grounds of the reconstructed Governor’s Palace, at graves on the grounds of Bruton Parish Church, and at a French Revolutionary War-era cemetery located outside the Historic Area, according to an email from Colonial Williamsburg spokesman Joseph Straw.
But when public sites closed in March due to the pandemic, the Colonial Williamsburg special events team immediately went to work on alternative plans, according to Director of Entertainment Robert Currie.
“It became even more important to make sure we got this done and got this right,” Currie said.
This year’s virtual ceremony takes place in the Revolutionary War cemetery at the Governor’s Palace, where the bodies of156 men and two women of military age are interred. According to Straw, the original Governor’s Palace served as a field hospital during the Yorktown campaign in 1781 and burned down late that year.
The brief Memorial Day video presentation that will be online Monday features representatives of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and the Sons of the American Revolution Williamsburg Chapter, in which participants “reflect on the meaning of duty and sacrifice through word and song,” according to Colonial Williamsburg’s webpage.
Currie said this video allows viewers to see “intimate details” of the “solemn moments” in this commemoration.
“We figured out a way to kind of create an intimate Memorial Day celebration that we can do virtually,” he said.
It was a collaborative effort that had to be done remotely in creative ways. Currie said that the special events team contacted Stewart Pittman and Larissa Sasgen, supervisors of the Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums Corps., who in turn recorded a performance of “Chester” for the video remotely.
“We worked with all of our partners and colleagues throughout the foundation to work remotely put this thing together,” Currie said. “This is the first time that we’ve ever really done anything quite like this.”
Community affairs manager Anna Harry praised Colonial Williamsburg’s multi-talented staff who contributed to the production, such as Joseph Feaster, the Colonial Williamsburg actor-interpreter who portrays “Nation Builder” Gowan Pamphlet.
Feaster is a U.S. Navy chaplain candidate lieutenant junior grade and offers the invocation for the virtual ceremony.
“I think that’s really special and unique,” Harry said.
SAR Williamsburg Chapter President Roger Cross said it’s a “very moving” ceremony, and that the SAR Williamsburg Chapter appreciates Colonial Williamsburg’s partnership to hold this virtual Memorial Day ceremony. He said it’s a great way “to take a few minutes” and “reflect on what Memorial Day actually means.”
“This year Memorial Day will definitely be different, however, the meaning is the same,” he said. “All of us need to approach Memorial Day and take a moment to reflect and honor the many thousands of brave men and women who have served our nation in the past.”
Grace Episcopal Church Yorktown is also holding a virtual Memorial Day ceremony this year. The event will be available 10 a.m. Monday on the church’s YouTube Channel at bit.ly/36utXjB to commemorate the end of World War II.
Opening remarks will include the history and meaning of Memorial Day, and the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. This will be followed with prayers by church parishioners, a reading of the names and service of the 99 known veterans buried in the Grace Church Cemetery, the playing of taps and ringing of the church’s historic bell.
A copy of the commemorative program and a listing of veterans will also be available online. Call Retired USAF Lt. Col. Al Crane at 867-8643 for more information.
Alex Perry, 757-285-9397, alexander.perry @virginiamedia.com