Memorial Day 2024: Pensacola area ceremonies include patriotic music, solemn ceremonies

There will be picnics, parties and cookouts on Memorial Day and the preceding weekend. Hopefully good weather too.

But tens of thousands along Northwest Florida will take time to honor the men and women who have died in defense of the United States since the country's inception. Memorial Day is May 27 and the proud military communities of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties will host solemn events to commemorate and honor those who, as the saying goes, "gave all."

"I think the further we are removed from the conflicts themselves then it becomes easier to see them simply as pages in history,'' said retired Marine Corps Maj. Rob Doss, president of the Veterans Memorial Park Foundation in Pensacola. "We need to remember that someone made the ultimate sacrifice, and that person was a family member ? a son, daughter, mother, father, grandparent or aunt or uncle. We need to remember those sacrifices."

Looking for Memorial Day weekend plans? You can get into any of Florida's state parks free

Veterans Memorial Park, home of the Wall South Vietnam Veterans Memorial and 12 other monuments, will host a Memorial Day event Sunday, while events are also planned for Barrancas National Cemetery, the city of Milton and Navarre.

Here's a look at Memorial Day ceremonies in Northwest Florida throughout the weekend through Memorial Day on Monday.

7 a.m. Saturday, May 25 ? Barrancas National Cemetery invites the public to help place flags on the gravesites in advances of Memorial Day.

1 p.m. Sunday, May 26 ? Memorial Day Observance at Veterans Memorial Park located off Bayfront Parkway. Guest speaker is Steve Wilmer, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps and in law enforcement and who now is an author, speaker and sales coach. There will be a Pipes & Drums performance by McGuire's Pipe Band, while the Pensacola Opera Chorus will perform the National Anthem and a medley of U.S. service hymns. There will also be participation from the U.S. Marine Corps Color Guard and U.S. Marine Corps Honor Guard.

Doss said that though the observance is on Sunday, the park normally has many visitors on the official Memorial Day on Monday.

"You see the massive crowds we have for the observance,'' he said. "On Monday it tends to be people who come to the park privately and have their own reflections and make more personal connections."

Monday, May 27, Memorial Day ? Wreath-laying ceremony at 9 a.m. at the Memorial Plaza at Barrancas National Cemetery.

Monday, May 27, Memorial Day ? 10 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Plaza, 5191 Willing Street in Milton. Observance will feature wreath-laying ceremony.

Monday, May 27, Memorial Day ? 11 a.m. at Navarre Park, 8513 Navarre Parkway. Guest speaker is recently retired Air Force Col. Allison Black, who commanded the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field in Okaloosa County. Free lunch will be served after ceremony at American Legion Post 382, 1850 Luneta Street, near Navarre Park.

Monday, May 27, Memorial Day ? Ninth annual Pensacola Memorial Day Concert, 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Hunter Amphitheater behind Blue Wahoos Stadium. The Pensacola Civic Band will perform patriotic music during the free concert, which will also feature a collaboration with the Alabama National Guard's 151st Army Band.

Memorial Day holds special meaning for those who have lost loved ones and family members in service to the country, including Milton Economic Director Ed Spears, whose nephew, U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. J.R. Spears, was killed by a single gunshot on Oct. 22, 2005, while on patrol in Iraq. He was only 21 years old.

"As long as their name is spoken, they will never die,'' Ed Spears said of those honored on Memorial Day. "Keeping their names alive is important. And having a monument, a place to go and come together with others who have experienced loss gives the family something to hold on to."

Still, Doss said Memorial Day should be important and observed by all Americans.

"It's important for all citizens to remember and honor those who helped this great country be free,'' Doss said. "It's harder to connect on the emotional level if you don't have a personal connection, but as Americans it's still important to acknowledge all the sacrifices that have been made throughout our nation's history."

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Memorial Day 2024: Pensacola ceremonies include solemn ceremonies