Five wreaths were placed at the Greenbelt War Memorial. Four rifles fired blanks into the air. Taps played and approximately 100 attendees stood to honor the dead.
Greenbelt’s Memorial Day service – held in Roosevelt Center on Monday, May 30 – ended with a feeling of completion that had been missing during the pandemic’s virtual events.
Run by Greenbelt American Legion Post 136, Post Commander Mike Moore welcomed all members of the Greenbelt City Council, County Councilmember Todd Turner, State Delegate Nicole Williams and U.S. Representative Anthony Brown (Maryland District 4).
Mayor Emmett Jordan, before reading the city’s proclamation in honor of Memorial Day, explained that the holiday was dedicated to all service people and honored those who died in combat, but also those who died of old age, of Covid, of cancer or from suicide. “We honor them all,” he noted.
The sentiment was echoed by Brown who added that, “Memorial Day is for the families of those we have lost.” A retired colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, Brown’s military record spanned more than a quarter century. In 2004, he was deployed to Iraq, where he earned a Bronze Star.
“When I had the opportunity to serve in Iraq, I was less concerned about my own welfare than I was for the welfare of my family. And they were well supported,” he said, thanking the people who work in American Legions and elsewhere for providing a community.
Brown, who is not running for re-election, noted he was pleased to see Democrats, Independents and Republicans come together on Capitol Hill to make sure the armed forces have what they need.
Turner, who is also not running for re-election, thanked the crowd of veterans for their service, and then asked everyone to continue in their service to the country by voting in the primary election on July 19.
