This year’s Asheville-Buncombe Memorial Day Ceremony will be held as a virtual ceremony, because of the need for physical distance with the State of Emergency posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The keynote speaker will be Anne Adkins, a Gold Star Mother who lost her son Matthew during his active duty in Iraq.
The ceremony, planned in concert with the Buncombe County Veterans Council, will be streamed live from Asheville City Hall. Tune into the City of Asheville’s YouTube channel at 11 a.m. Memorial Day, May 25, to view the ceremony live in real time. Following the ceremony, it will be archived for later viewing on the City’s YouTube channel.
Expected to last about 40 minutes, the ceremony will serve in place of both the City and the State Veterans Cemetery in-person events. There will be no attendees other than the individuals with active roles in the program. The program will consist of the following:
- The National Anthem will be sung by Ric Ledford, USMC. Followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Ted Minnick, US Army, Vietnam
- Next presenter will be Stephanie Young, Director, Charles George VA Medical Center
- The Keynote Speaker will be Anne Adkins, Gold Star Mother whose son, Matthew, made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq.
- There will be two readings from the Brothers and Sisters Like These writing group (Ron Toler, USAF Pilot, Vietnam; Tommy Cannon, US Army, Iraq, and his son Issac, U.S. Army, Iraq, will read a Memorial Day tribute)
- Followed by the playing of taps by Ric Ledford which will then conclude our ceremony.
The City of Asheville and Buncombe County encourage all residents to tune in to this virtual Memorial Day Ceremony in remembrance of the fallen, those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country.
