Memorial Day Events at Fort Custer National Cemetery Cancelled

In keeping with the proscribed policy of avoiding large gatherings, the Memorial Day events at Fort Custer National Cemetery in Augusta have been cancelled. 

It's not a festival or a celebration in every sense of the word, but the commemoration of the service rendered in defense of our freedom by men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice will not be publicly recognized this year at Fort Custer National Cemetery. A solemn ceremony is held each Memorial Day by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, with speakers, a military band, a flyover and twenty-one gun salute.

All events have been cancelled in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The grounds will be open for loved ones to honor their friends and relatives privately, but certain portions of a cemetery like information centers or chapels, typically open to the public may be closed. Each year in the past, volunteers have placed American flags and roses at the gravesite markers, but that practice, too, has been postponed. Friends and family members may do this on an individual basis.

We are sadden [sic] to have cancelled this annual event, but know it to be in the best interest of our many visitors and our cemetery staff.

-A written statement provided to WWMT