Members of Veterans of Foreign Wars Let ‘er Buck Post No. 922 erected the Avenue of Flags on May 21, 2020, at Olney Cemetery. The group again places flags at the Pendleton cemetery Thursday, May 26, 2022, in advance of Memorial Day weekend. A ceremony takes place Monday, May 30, 11 a.m.

PENDLETON — For decades, Pendleton’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 922 has helped host Memorial Day ceremonies in the city.

However, with COVID-19 forcing people to practice social distancing, it’s a fair bet that 2020’s ceremony will be among the more unique the group has put on.

“So, it’s probably going to be the most intimate one we’ve ever done,” said Judith Burger, commander elect for VFW Post 922. “It will be very brief because we are trying to keep the numbers of people down there, not just people coming to visit, but also the participants from the VFW.”

Friends of Olney and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 922 will host the annual event at 11 a.m. Monday at Olney Cemetery, 865 Tutuilla Road.

Burger said the ceremony will be about 15 minutes long and will be “by the book.”

“We are just going to remember our fallen comrades, the military veterans, that are buried out there,” she said.

Most years, Burger said, the ceremony features music and several speakers, but that will not be the case during the year’s stripped-down version. Instead, Burger will read the General Order No. 11 from the Grand Army of the Republic, also called the “Memorial Day Order,” the brief ceremony, and then the playing of “Taps.”

“We hope to have two trumpets doing echoing ‘Taps,’” Burger said. “It’s a really powerful way to hear ‘Taps.’ We are having a conversation with the Combat Veteran Motorcycle Association, and hopefully going to have a few riders from their organization do a ride around the Avenue of Flags after the ‘Taps.’”

Olney Cemetery will have a red, white and blue feel over the weekend, with the traditional Avenue of Flags around the cemetery. In addition, Boy Scout Troop 700 will place small flags on the gravesites of veterans in the cemetery. Cub Scout Pack 745 will help remove the flags on Tuesday.

“I’m excited because the Pendleton Parks and Rec are going to video the ceremony and put it on their social media feed,” Burger said. “So, I’m hopeful that people may not, you know, come down for the ceremony, but actually attend it at home or out wherever they are and watch it on their social media feed, and then maybe come down when it’s less busy.”

Walla Walla VA hosting virtual ceremony

The Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center in Walla Walla, Washington, will be holding a virtual Memorial Day Ceremony at 9 a.m. Monday, according to a press release.

The event will be available through the Walla Walla VA’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/vawallawalla.

This year’s event will be a shortened ceremony featuring opening remarks about why we observe Memorial Day every year, and Troy Parson, Walla Walla VA’s chaplain, will provide special remarks. A veteran himself, Parson served more than 20 years in the U.S. Army, both as a military policeman and chaplain. He also deployed to the Middle East and Asia for a total of 18 months.

No event in Hermiston

Hermiston has canceled its Avenue of Flags at the Hermiston Cemetery and the accompanying Memorial Day ceremony this year.

Dennis Aiken of VFW Desert Post 4750 said in an email that the number of people needed to put up and take down the flags would exceed the state’s current limitations on gatherings, and organizers were concerned for the safety of the volunteers who would be in close contact with each other.

Originally called Decoration Day, Memorial Day was first observed May 30, 1868. The day was initially set aside to place flowers on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery, according to the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Now, as a federal holiday, Memorial Day is observed the last Monday of May each year.