Memorial Day at Wood National Cemetery: Ceremony draws big crowd
MILWAUKEE - In Milwaukee on Monday, May 30 was a Memorial Day ceremony years in the making.
It was standing room only – one of the biggest crowds the Milwaukee VA has hosted since COVID-19 – all for the Memorial Day service at Wood National Cemetery.
Memorial Day ceremony at Wood National Cemetery
"I think the message was that we can never forget," said John Mercure, Memorial Day service emcee. "Today it seemed larger. Had an important vibe and energy. It seemed a little bit different because it hasn’t been around for the last two years."
The service honors fallen veterans, their families, and prisoners of war or missing in action who never made it home.
Memorial Day ceremony at Wood National Cemetery
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"I thought today was awesome," said Vietnam veteran Ruby Scheuing, who gathered with others to make Monday's remembrance powerful. "Just to be here, to honor to remember those that served. And to be a part of being here laying a wreath, the balloons, just showing how much we really do care about these veterans that didn’t come home."
Ruby Scheuing
The Milwaukee American Legion Band perform – and wreaths were placed in memory of those who died for our country. It was a somber day -- one to honor and remember the fallen.
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"Now we’re in another uncertainty time in our world and I think it’s just important that we recognize there are men and women still serving overseas," Mercure said.
Memorial Day ceremony at Wood National Cemetery
The VA is looking for volunteers to help remove the American flags from the thousands of headstones on Tuesday morning – starting at 8:30 a.m. Interested volunteers can park in the gravel area east of the Cemetery Office, 5000 W. National Ave., Building 1301, and sign in there.