Although the turnout was a bit modest, there were still plenty of boots on the ground Monday when Alamance County staged its annual Memorial Day ceremony for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Held, as per norm, in front of the granite war memorial that dominates the grounds of the Judge J.B. Allen Jr. Court House, Monday’s commemoration drew spectators both young and old to this hallowed location along West Elm Street in Graham.
The event ultimately featured a full program for those who attended – minus the usual accompaniment of the Western High School band, which sat out the ceremony due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Because last year’s ceremony had itself been a casualty of the pandemic, Monday’s event honored a particularly large number of service members who had passed away since the county’s last Memorial Day tribute in 2019. A total of 577 names were ultimately read out in recognition of these departed veterans.
Two seats on the dais were also left empty for the late P.D. Kiser and Daniel Somers – who had both served on the war memorial committee that organizes the yearly commemoration prior to their deaths.
