Goshen, N.Y. – Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus and Christian Farrell, Director of the Veterans Service Agency (VSA), have announced that the County’s Veterans Memorial Cemetery will host events over Memorial Day Weekend on Thursday, May 24th, Friday, May 25th and Tuesday, May 29th.
The 19-acre Veterans Memorial Cemetery is located at 111 Craigville Road in Goshen.
“We are proud to host these important Memorial Day remembrances, which give us an opportunity to join together in paying tribute to the service men and women who gave their lives in defense of our freedoms,” Neuhaus said. “I ask that Orange County residents take time with their family and friends to remember the sacrifices of the fallen. We owe them our deepest respect and gratitude, and should never take their sacrifices for granted.”
JROTC students from Minisink Valley High School will place American flags on more than 3,000 graves at the cemetery at noon on May 24th. The cemetery will host a Memorial Day prayer service with a short ceremony at 10 a.m. on May 25th. It will include the reading of the names of several local servicemen and women who have passed, a moment of silence and then the sounding of Taps.
The rain date for the prayer service is 10 a.m. on May 26th. Members of the Minisink Valley football team will remove the Memorial Day gravesite flags placed at the graves by the JROTC at 3 p.m. on May 29th (weather permitting).
“May is a special month at the Orange County Veterans Memorial Cemetery as we recognize and honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” Farrell said. “The cemetery always looks very dignified during the Memorial Day weekend thanks to the work of the dedicated cemetery staff and the help of volunteers who make sure every grave is marked with an American flag.”
According to the County’s VSA, 832 Orange County residents have died serving our country in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the post-911 conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died serving our country. In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y. the “birthplace” of Memorial Day. A ceremony on May 5, 1866, honored local veterans in Waterloo who had fought in the Civil War.
For more information about the Memorial Day Veterans Cemetery events, call the VSA office at 845-291-2470.
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