Memorial Day Events Near Edgewater Include Parade, Ceremony

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — A Memorial Day parade and two ceremonies will honor Anne Arundel County veterans on the Monday, May 29 holiday. These events are part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

Annapolis Parade

The Annapolis Memorial Day parade starts Monday at 10 a.m. at Amos Garrett Boulevard and West Street. It will head down West Street, around Church Circle, down Main Street and end at City Dock. Anybody interested in marching in the parade must email [email protected] to submit an application by Tuesday.

“Memorial Day is a day for us to reflect on the cost of freedom,” Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley said in a press release. “It is our responsibility to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice.”

Memorial Day Ceremonies

The Crownsville Veterans Cemetery will host a Memorial Day commemoration ceremony Monday at 11 a.m. The guest speaker will be Lt. Col. Chaveso “Chevy” Cook, commander of the Headquarters Command Battalion at Fort Meade. The Maryland Defense Force Band will also play patriotic music.

This ceremony is open to the public. It will take place at the Crownsville cemetery, located at 1122 Sunrise Beach Road. American Legion Post No. 7 will provide refreshments afterward. More details are posted here.

A separate Memorial Day ceremony in Timonium will honor four veterans with Anne Arundel County ties.

Those veterans are:

• Navy Seaman First Class William Brooks of Glen Burnie (Killed Dec. 7, 1941 during the Pearl Harbor attack aboard the USS Oklahoma. His remains were identified in 2021, and he was laid to rest next to his brother in Maryland on July 16, 2022)
  • Related: Sailor Who Died In Pearl Harbor To Be Buried This Week In Glen Burnie
• Army Specialist Joshua R. Graves Jr. of Glen Burnie (Died July 15, 2022)
• Naval Academy Midshipman Second Class Luke G. Bird (Died July 16, 2022)
  • Related: Naval Academy Identifies Late Midshipman After Fatal Fall In Chile
• Navy Petty Officer Second Class Brandon M. Murrmann of Glen Burnie (Died Jan. 2, 2023)

The Monday service starts at 10 a.m. in Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens at the Circle of the Immortals monument. The cemetery is located at 200 East Padonia Road.

The event is open to the public. The ceremony will also be live streamed on the cemetery's Facebook page.

Other Events

As the observance has changed over the years, many families also use Memorial Day as an occasion to visit Anne Arundel County cemeteries and leave flowers at the graves of family members, regardless of whether they served in the military.

Memorial Day Weekend is also the unofficial kickoff to summer in Maryland. Below are more ways to spend the weekend:

• Carnival at the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company (daily Tuesday through Monday with a Memorial Day ceremony at 5 p.m.)
• Cars and Coffee at the Annapolis Town Center (Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon)
• Dance party with live music at Mike's Crab House North in Pasadena (Monday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.)

History Of Memorial Day

The history of Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, dates back to 1868, when Gen. John A. Logan called for a day of remembrance to honor the Northern lives lost amid battle during the Civil War that had ended just a few years earlier, according to History.com. As time passed, more and more people called it Memorial Day, and it became a federal holiday in 1971.

Waterloo, New York, is considered the birthplace of Memorial Day. The town’s observance on May 5, 1866, predated Logan’s call for a day of remembrance. Local businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers and flags.

Until World War I, the holiday honored only those soldiers who died while fighting for the Union in the War, as Southern states honored their war dead on a separate day. After the 116,000-plus American deaths in World War I, the tradition changed to remember all who have died while serving in the military.

Every year, a national moment of remembrance is held at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. No matter where they are or what they’re doing, Americans are asked to pause for one minute in silence to remember military personnel who have given their lives in service to their country. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the midday time was chosen because it’s a time when many Americans will be enjoying their freedoms on a national holiday.