Ceremony to remember fallen at Georgia War Veterans Cemetery

Published 1:27 pm Monday, May 23, 2016

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Memorial Day for many is a day off from work to go to the lake or river and have fun in the sun. For others, particularly those who have lost loved ones fighting in the nation’s military, it is a day of remembrance.

“For Memorial Day, we’re having a ceremony in honor of our fallen heroes,” said Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery (GVMC) Director Russell Feagin.

The GVMC will hold its annual Memorial Day Ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 30.

The ceremony will consist of various organizations paying tribute to the fallen soldiers, patriotic music and a special guest speaker.

Johnny Payne of Dublin will be the event’s keynote speaker. Payne is a veteran of the Vietnam War where he served as a sergeant and platoon leader in the U.S. Army’s First Air Cavalry Division. He is executive director of the Heart of Georgia United Way and chaired a committee to bring the mobile replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall to the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Dublin in 2014.

The Baldwin High School Naval JROTC will handle the presentation of the colors.

Members of the Patriot Guard Riders organization will ride in on their motorcycles at the beginning of the event and form a flag line along the backside of the ceremony area.

The ceremony will also have a presentation of flags for soldiers from Georgia who have died in active duty since last Memorial Day.

Flags throughout the cemetery will be at half-staff at the beginning of the day, and the Knights of Columbus will be on hand to raise them at the conclusion of the ceremony, along with the playing of taps.

Feagin said the event usually takes around 45 minutes and attendees are welcome to stay after to tour the grounds.

The Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery is the final resting place for approximately 2,750 veterans and their families. The Memorial Day ceremony has taken place for the last several years and Feagin said the event has had 500 to 600 attendees in the past.

“We’ve had some real good turnouts and it seems to be growing each year,” said Feagin.

Beginning on Thursday, American flags will be placed on every grave in the cemetery for Memorial Day weekend. Feagin added that anyone who wants to volunteer to put flags on the graves is invited to do so starting Thursday morning.

“We have to remember what our military personnel have done for their country,” Feagin said. “All too frequently the attitude is ‘what have you done for me lately.’ The military [is] constantly doing. Those who have fallen either on the field of battle or as a result of injuries received cannot be forgotten. They have to be remembered for our country to continue to survive and exist as we know it.”

The Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery is located at 2617 Vinson Highway in Milledgeville.