Lake Norman Publications

How Lake Norman towns celebrate Memorial Day


Flags were placed on a veteran’s gravestone by local BSA Troops at this Davidson cemetery. /Lori Helms

Memorial Day is observed the last Monday of May, this year on the 30th, honoring men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it began in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.

The Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history and required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries. By the late 1860s, Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating graves with flowers and reciting prayers, and each year on Memorial Day, there is a national moment of remembrance at 3 p.m.

In the Lake Norman area, communities have various commemorative events. Here is a summary:

Cornelius

In collaboration with American Legion Post 86, the keynote speaker will be Commander Jim Quinlan of the American Legion Department of North Carolina.

There will be a POW/MIA empty chair ceremony, music by Jeff Apthrop, a 21-gun salute and representatives from the Hough High School Junior ROTC program. American Legion Post 86 Commander Randy Wally is the master of ceremonies.

The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. on the Cornelius Town Hall lawn, across from the Cornelius Veterans Monument

Huntersville

The town and American Legion Post 321 will host the community’s 21st annual Memorial Day Ceremony at Veterans Park, 201 Huntersville-Concord Road, on May 30. The free event will begin at 10:30 a.m. with a musical performance by the Community Singers of Lake Norman.

Audience participation is encouraged through the display of red, white, and blue either through dress and/or flags. BSA Troop 19 will distribute small flags to audience members and line the lawn at attention in uniform. The ceremony will begin promptly at 11 a.m. and end with a Salute to the Fallen by members of the American Legion Post 321. Colors will be presented and retired by Cadets from North Mecklenburg High School Junior ROTC, led by bagpiper David Thornburg.

The Liberty Park Promenade, with flags honoring the branches of U.S. military service, is the appropriate location for Mooresville Memorial Day tribute. /Lee Sullivan

Mooresville

Memorial Day will be observed with a special ceremony May 30 starting at 10 a.m. The town’s third annual event will be held in the promenade area at Mooresville’s Liberty Park off Church Street.

All are invited to the ceremony, which will include remarks by John Gallina, co-founder and CEO of Purple Heart Homes, along with special music and more.

The Memorial Day event is hosted by the Exchange Club of Mooresville-Lake Norman in conjunction with the town.

Lincoln County

On May 30, starting at noon and continuing until 1 p.m., a short program and wreath-laying ceremony will be held at the Lincoln County Veterans Memorial on the east side of the Lincoln County Courthouse. The location is on East Court Square in downtown Lincolnton.

One response to “How Lake Norman towns celebrate Memorial Day”

  1. Reta Berman says:

    Sad Thst the Town of Davidson does NoTHING yo honor those who died to give them the freedom NIT yo honor our military heroes. But that is what they/it/them do.

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