Photo By William Prokopyk | Veterans groups stand with the colors at the 2012 Memorial Day Ceremony at the North...... read more read more
MANDAN, N.D. - The 2015 Memorial Day Ceremony at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery will begin at noon Monday, May 25. This annual event, hosted by the North Dakota National Guard, honors all deceased American servicemen and women and is free to the public. The theme of “25 Years of Honor” is in celebration of the 1990 groundbreaking. The cemetery is located 6.5 miles south of Mandan on North Dakota Highway 1806.
Participants should arrive early due to anticipated crowds. Lawn chairs are encouraged due to limited seating. Due to the large attendance anticipated and limited parking near the ceremony area, handicap marked vehicles are encouraged to arrive before 11 a.m. Shuttle vans marked with yellow flashing lights on top will be available to transport attendees from parking areas to the ceremony. Attendees are encouraged not to drive large vehicles, such as recreational vehicles, campers or tow trailers, due to constrained parking.
Individuals not attending the ceremony, but dropping off flowers for Memorial Day grave decorations, need to arrive by 10 a.m.
This year’s keynote speaker is retired Maj. Gen. Alexander P. Macdonald, who served as the North Dakota National Guard adjutant general during the construction of the cemetery. The emcee is Col. (Promotable) Robert A. Fode, commander, of the North Dakota Army National Guard.
Scheduled to render welcoming remarks are Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley, Sen. John Hoeven, Rep. Kevin Cramer and Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, adjutant general for the North Dakota National Guard.
The North Dakota National Guard’s Fargo-based 188th Army Band’s “Brass Quintet” will perform “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” as well as pre-ceremony music. Also participating in the ceremony are local Veteran organizations who will post colors. The Bismarck Mounted Police also will carry colors and have a caparisoned riderless horse with boots reversed in the stirrups to symbolize a fallen warrior that can no longer ride into battle.
The national anthem will be performed by Brittan Grubb. A combined team comprised of members of the American Legion Post 40 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 707 will render a rifle salute volley and the North Dakota National Guard Military Funeral Honors Team will fire a 21-gun cannon salute with a World War I-era French 75 mm cannon. Taps will be performed by the 188th Army Band’s Warrant Officer 1 John Landman.
Pastor Jim Ray, Valley Christian Church of Moorhead, Minnesota, and Capt. Chad Dion, chaplain, North Dakota Army National Guard, will render Memorial Day prayers. After the formal portion of the ceremony concludes, Sinte-Ska will perform “The Flag Song.”
Also, after the ceremony is concluded, the public will be invited to view an unveiling of the nearly complete POW MIA Memorial located on site. The formal dedication of the memorial is scheduled for June 3 at 11 a.m.
In honor of past and present military personnel, Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is offering free admission and tours and refreshments at the commissary after the Memorial Day event in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the North Dakota State Parks and Recreation Department. Fort Abraham Lincoln is located adjacent to and northeast of the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery. For additional information, please call 701-667-6340.
In support of the Memorial Day ceremony at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, the Viet Nam Vets / Legacy Vets Motorcycle Club along with the Second Brigade Motorcycle Club are organizing a Memorial Day “Motorcycle Honor Ride.” The clubs will organize motorcycles at “The Shop” (131 Airport Road) in Bismarck and ride in together to the cemetery.
Honor Ride participants will leave Bismarck at 11 a.m., head west on Main Street, cross the Liberty Memorial Bridge to Mandan’s Memorial Highway. After turning west on Mandan’s 3rd Street SE, the motorcyclists will head south on North Dakota Highway 1806 until they reach the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery. To participate in the ride, please assemble at “The Shop” by 10:45 a.m. All motorcyclists are invited to join the ride and no pre-coordination is required. Ride organizers will be on site by 10 a.m.
The North Dakota Veteran's Cemetery was established by an act of the 1989 North Dakota Legislative Assembly. The cemetery was opened in July 1992, and is operated by the office of the North Dakota adjutant general.
WHAT: 2015 Memorial Day Ceremony – North Dakota Veterans Cemetery
WHEN: May 25, 2015, at noon.
WHERE: North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, 6.5 miles south of Mandan, North Dakota, on Highway 1806
MEDIA: No pre-coordination required; Bill Prokopyk will be on site 701-220-7277
| Date Taken: | 05.22.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.22.2015 11:58 |
| Story ID: | 164268 |
| Location: | MANDAN, NORTH DAKOTA, US |
| Web Views: | 768 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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