Roundup: Memorial Day ceremonies and events this weekend throughout Lewis and Thurston counties
May 22-With Memorial Day on Monday, May 25, a number of local veterans organizations, cemeteries and other local groups are preparing to mark the holiday, starting this weekend with multiple ceremonies and events scheduled throughout Lewis and Thurston counties.
Originally known as Decoration Day, according to the National Cemetery Administration, the solemn holiday was first observed in 1868 by a proclamation from Grand Army of the Republic General John A. Logan and then-Ohio U.S. Rep. James Garfield - himself a former Union general and future president - to honor those who died in the U.S. Civil War.
While Logan and Garfield held an official ceremony on May 30, 1868, at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, nationwide, members of the Children of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphan Asylum were also tasked with decorating graves of fallen service members with flags and flowers in observance of Decoration Day.
Eventually, the holiday colloquially became known as Memorial Day, and was continually observed unofficially throughout the remainder of the 19th and 20th centuries. It wasn't until 1971, when the 1968 Uniform Monday Holiday Act went into effect, that Congress officially designated it as a federal national holiday, held on the last Monday of each May.
Below are dates, times and locations of public Memorial Day events here regionally.
Greenwood Memorial Park
In the Hub City, members of American Legion Grant Hodge Post 17 and other local veteran groups will hold a ceremony to honor the U.S. military veterans buried at the historic Sticklin Greenwood Memorial Park at noon Saturday, May 23, according to a Grant Hodge Post 17 news release.
The cemetery is located at 1822 Van Wormer St. in Centralia, and is the final resting place for veterans from nearly every war going back to the U.S. Civil War.
"Formal Memorial Day celebrations were held in 1929, 1979 and 1982 in Greenwood Cemetery. This cemetery was formally rededicated in 2022," the release stated. "Each Memorial Day, volunteers (including veterans, boy scouts and citizens) place the American flag on some 500 veteran gravesites. It is believed there are many more veterans whose graves do not reflect their veteran status. The combined Greenwood Committee, made up of citizens and the City of Centralia, continues to work to identify these veterans."
Read more about the ceremony here: https://www.chronline.com/stories/remembering-the-fallen-at-a-history-lesson-in-plain-sight,402810
Mossyrock
In East Lewis County, members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 5439 will hold a Memorial Day bake sale fundraiser on Saturday, May 23, at the Smith and Son Grocery, located at 254 E. State St. in Mossyrock.
The bake sale begins at 8 a.m. and runs until 2 p.m., or "until goodies run out," according to a City of Mossyrock Facebook post. The bake sale isn't all VFW Post 5439 members will be doing to mark the holiday, either.
"Memorial Day is so much more than a long holiday weekend. It really is a day of honoring and mourning the military who gave their lives serving our country. Please support the VFW this weekend by stopping by the bake sale Saturday at Smith & Son's and by attending the Honor Guard Ceremony being held at Veteran's Park at noon on Monday," the City of Mossyrock stated in the post.
Mossyrock's Veterans Park is located at 130 W. State St.
Yelm
Out in Thurston County, the City of Yelm will hold its Memorial Day remembrance ceremony on Monday, May 25, at the Veterans Memorial in Yelm City Park and Splash Pad, according to a City of Yelm Facebook post.
"Memorial Day is more than a long weekend, it is a time to reflect on the courage, sacrifice, and legacy of those who gave everything for our freedoms," the city stated on Facebook. "We hope you'll join us as we pause to remember and honor our nation's heroes."
Yelm City Park is located at 115 SE Mosman Ave. in Yelm, and the city's ceremony begins at 2 p.m.
Baw Faw Grange in Boistfort
Members of the Baw Faw Grange will host a Memorial Day Flag Ceremony on Monday, May 25, beginning at 10 a.m., according to a Baw Faw Grange Facebook post.
The ceremony will be held at the monument in front of the Boistfort Lewis County Fire District 13 fire house and the grange hall, located at 995 Boistfort Road.
"Join us for free desserts and community fellowship afterwards at the grange," the Facebook post added.
Claquato Cemetery
In the Mint City, members of multiple American Legion and VFW posts, along with local Scouting America troops and representatives of the Veterans Memorial Museum, will hold a Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony on Monday, May 25, starting at 10:30 a.m. at the flagpole at Claquato Cemetery, according to a Facebook post by cemetery staff.
Claquato Cemetery is located at 142 Stearns Road in Chehalis.
Throughout Memorial Day weekend, the cemetery's office will be open on Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for visitors, the post added.
George Washington Park
Back in the Hub City, members of the local VFW and American Legion Chapters along with America's Team Museum Executive Director Peter Lahmann will hold a Memorial Day ceremony starting at 1 p.m. at The Sentinel Statue and Freedom Walk Memorial at George Washington Park.
The park is located at 110 S. Silver St. in downtown Centralia.
Lahmann spoke to The Chronicle on Friday, May 22, and invited any relatives or friends of U.S. service members whose names are listed on the Freedom Walk to come to the ceremony and share the service members' stories if they wish.
Those listed on the Freedom Walk are Centralia residents who joined the military and were killed in action throughout various wars in America's history.
As for The Sentinel, it was erected after the Centralia Tragedy of 1919 to commemorate World War I veterans and American Legion members who were killed during an Armistice Day parade that turned into a shootout. Shooting began when American Legion members and local Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union members confronted each other, resulting in several Legionnaires. One IWW member, who was later lynched, was also a World War I veteran.
Additionally, Lahmann plans to have several vintage military vehicles and equipment from America's Team Museum on display at the park.
Olympia
At the Washington State Capitol Campus, members of the Washington state Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will host a Memorial Day ceremony at the Capitol Building Rotunda beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, May 25, according to the Washington state Department of Enterprise Services event calendar.
The Rotunda building is located at 416 Sid Snyder Ave. SW in Olympia.
Following the ceremony, VA representatives will also be holding the 2026 Olympia Thunder Run, starting at the Vietnam War Memorial on the Capitol Campus.
The Vietnam War Memorial is located along Sid Snyder Avenue Southwest, just east of Cherry Lane Southwest.
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