Fort Knox hosts annual Memorial Day ceremony and cemetery visitation

By Marissa Wells | U.S. Army Cadet CommandJune 2, 2021

Fort Knox hosts annual Memorial Day ceremony and cemetery visitation
On the morning of Memorial Day, May 31, 2021, Fort Knox hosted a ceremony at the Fort Knox Main Post Cemetery honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Almost 1,000 individuals are buried at the cemetery. (Photo Credit: Anna Pray, Cadet Summer Training Public Affairs Office) VIEW ORIGINAL

Fort Knox, Ky. Fort Knox held its annual Memorial Day service at the Main Post Cemetery May 31 to honor the lives of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation.

The ceremony included a 21-gun salute performed by members from 19th Engineer Battalion, a fallen Soldier table and remembrance ceremony  and flag folding performed by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command color guard, as well as a wreath laying led by 84th Training Command and a performance by the 100th Army Band.

Brigadier Gen. Hope Rampy, the Adjutant General of the U.S. Army, who also serves as commander of the U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency and executive director of the Military Postal Service Agency, spoke at the ceremony.

“This year, we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,” said Rampy. “One hundred years ago, our nation laid to rest an unidentified American who fell in the first World War. Likewise, the Fort Knox cemetery has honored our veterans since 1921.

Fort Knox hosts annual Memorial Day ceremony and cemetery visitation
The Human Resources Command Honor Guard performs the flag folding ceremony during the Memorial Day ceremony, May 31, 2021 at the Fort Knox Main Post Cemetery, Fort Knox, Kentucky. (Photo Credit: Anna Pray, Cadet Summer Training Public Affairs Office) VIEW ORIGINAL

“One hundred years ago, in June 1921, the first veteran was laid to rest here at Fort Knox Main Post Cemetery.”

Rampy remarked on the importance of everyone interred in the cemetery.

“Every headstone has a story behind it, representing the life of someone’s father, brother, mother, sister,” Rampy said. “I choose not to remember how they gave their life, but instead to celebrate their lives.”

Fort Knox is the final resting place of more than 3,500 people buried in 118 cemeteries. Memorial Day is the only day they are open to visitation by the public.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, families and friends gathered at the grave sites of their loved ones to pay their respects.

Fort Knox hosts annual Memorial Day ceremony and cemetery visitation
Lesley Dennis bends down to speak to her boys, Samuel (middle left) and Henry about their great-grandfather, while her sister, Sarah Heck, stands behind the boys after the Memorial Day ceremony, May 31, 2021 at the Fort Knox Main Post Cemetery. Louis Earl Miles, who is buried at the cemetery, was Dennis and Heck’s grandfather. (Photo Credit: Anna Pray, Cadet Summer Training Public Affairs Office) VIEW ORIGINAL

Lesley Dennis and her sister, Sarah Heck, were there to visit their grandfather, Louis Earl Miles, an airman first class in the U.S. Air Force.

“He was very special to us,” Dennis said. “He meant so much.”

She brought her two young sons, Henry and Samuel, with her to the ceremony.

Lieutenant Col. Laura C. Bellot, a professor of Military Science at Drexel University in Philadelphia who is visiting Fort Knox, said she was thankful to have the opportunity to attend the ceremony.

“Memorial Day is special to me because I served and I continue to serve,” said Bellot; “and I think about my peers who aren’t here.”

Retired infantryman Michael Pesko, Jr., who served as both an enlisted Soldier and commissioned officer, explained what Memorial Day means to him.

“Armed Forces Day honors Soldiers, folks who are still in uniform. Veteran’s Day honors those who are no longer in uniform,” said Pesko. “Memorial Day honors those who never lived to take the uniform off.”

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Editor’s Note: For more photos of the ceremony, go to the Fort Knox official Flickr site at https://www.flickr.com/photos/armyrotc/albums/72157719323510982.