Once again, here’s the schedule for Monday’s Memorial Day Events:
Flag Ceremony in the Golden Cemetery
The Golden VFW Post 4171 will raise the Avenue of Flags at the Golden Cemetery (map) at 6:30AM, and they will remain up till sunset. At 10:45AM, the VFW will lead a parade from Ulysses Park down West 10th Avenue to the cemetery. At 11, they will conduct a flag service in the Veterans section of the cemetery.
Flyover at the Marine Memorial
There will also be a ceremony at the Marine Corps Memorial (intersection of Highways 6 and 40–map) at 2PM. The program will include color guard, bag pipes, flyover, guest speaker, taps, rifle salute when appropriate, and recognitions. Please bring your own chairs if you are unable to stand for more than 30 minutes without assistance. They don’t always have chairs available. Please plan to park across the street, at Home Depot.
You may have wondered about that Marine Memorial…why is it located in such a non-obvious place, with high-speed roadways on both sides? When the Memorial was dedicated, in 1976, that area wasn’t as built-up. The office buildings to the west weren’t there, and neither was the Home Depot complex. Highway 6 had fewer lanes and much less traffic, and the same was true of Highway 40 (Colfax). The memorial was located on a high spot after the long rise out of Denver.
The U.S. Marine Corps Memorial Association has some major renovations planned, which will make the site more prominent and more beautiful. See their website for a video rendering of what we can expect. If you would like to contribute to the project, or join the Memorial Association, you can do that on their website too!
