HEIDELBERG, Germany - U.S. Army garrisons throughout Europe will be participating in Memorial Day programs being held at American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries this weekend, along with other planned events.
During ceremonies at ABMC locations, each cemetery gravesite is decorated with a U.S. flag and that of the host country. According to the ABMC, these programs include participation by U.S. embassies, a reading of the President's Memorial Day Proclamation, speakers, presentation of the colors, wreath-laying ceremonies, and performances by military bands and units.
Ceremonies scheduled are:
Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, France; 9:45 a.m. Sunday
Ardennes American Cemetery, Belgium; 10 a.m. Saturday
Brittany American Cemetery; France; 4 p.m. Sunday
Brookwood American Cemetery, England; 3 p.m. Sunday
Cambridge American Cemetery, England; 11 a.m. Monday
Epinal American Cemetery, France; 3 p.m. Sunday
Flanders Field American Cemetery, Belgium; 3 p.m. Sunday
Florence American Cemetery, Italy; 11 a.m. Monday
Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Belgium; 4 p.m. Saturday
Lorraine American Cemetery, France; 11 a.m. Sunday
Luxembourg American Cemetery, Luxembourg; 2 p.m. Saturday
Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, France; 3 p.m. Sunday
Netherlands American Cemetery, the Netherlands; 3 p.m. Sunday
Normandy American Cemetery, France; 10:30 a.m. Sunday
Oise-Aisne American Cemetery, France; 3 p.m. Sunday
Rhone American Cemetery, France; 10 a.m. Sunday
Saint Mihiel American Cemetery, France; 4 p.m. Sunday
Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Italy; 11 a.m. Monday
Somme American Cemetery, France; 3 p.m. Sunday
Suresnes American Cemetery, France; 2:30 p.m. Sunday
USAG Benelux, Belgium, will be participating in six of these events being held in three countries.
USAG Schinnen, the Netherlands, will be participating in the Netherlands American Cemetery ceremony and a special event scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday. After a life-long search, Estill Taylor will place a bronze star on the cemetery's Wall of the Missing to formerly recognize that her father, 1st Lt. Shannon E. Estill, is no longer listed as missing.
Shot down over Elsnig, Germany, April 13, 1945, just weeks before the end of World War II, the lieutenant was the last man killed from the 428th Fighter Squadron, 474th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force. His daughter's devotion to her father's memory led to his formal burial in Arlington Cemetery on Oct. 6, 2006 - more than 61 years after his death.
Additionally, garrisons throughout Germany will be sponsoring community events. For example, USAG Hohenfels is holding a wreath-laying ceremony Thursday in front of the Joint Multinational Readiness Center headquarters. USAG Stuttgart, along with American Legion Post 6, will be hosting a ceremony at 11 a.m. Monday on Washington Square near the Patch Barracks Chapel. USAG Mannheim is planning a ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday at Veterans Park across from the post commissary. It also will hold a 10-year-anniversary ceremony for its Friendship Circle at 9 a.m. Monday.
And in Friedberg, the recently inactivated 1st Brigade of the 1st Armored Division will hold a memorial service Thursday for all of its fallen Soldiers from an Iraqi deployment that ended in February - the last chance to do officially as many troops are leaving within days.
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