Mountain View Cemetery, Auburn Veterans Park to host ceremonies Monday

Public invited to program

May 23, 2019 6:30 am
Frank Bannister, former VFW Post 1741 commander, lays a memorial wreath during last year’s Memorial Day observance at Mountain View Cemetery. MARK KLAAS, Auburn Reporter

The public is invited to a special Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 27, at 10 a.m. in the Memorial Flag Plaza at Mountain View Cemetery, 2020 Mountain View Drive SW, Auburn.

Troop 398 will begin the ceremony with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by Geoffrey Klerekoper singing the national anthem. The Rev. Dr. Tim Klerekoper will give the invocation, and Mayor Nancy Backus and Post Commander Tony Whetstine of VFW Post 1741 will provide sentiments. The Inter-tribal Warrior Society will perform a rifle salute.

The cemetery offers extended hours during the Memorial Day weekend: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday; noon-4 p.m. Sunday; and 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday.

For more information, call 253-931-3028, or visit online at auburnwa.gov.

Other ceremonies:

• Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park opener: 11 a.m. May 25, The Museum of Flight, 9404 E. Marginal Way S., Seattle. Ceremony features Gen. Jim Mattis (Ret.), the 26th Secretary of Defense. The park is the result of several years of fundraising through the Project Welcome Home campaign, which provided support for the restoration of the park’s centerpiece, the B-52G Stratofortress 59-2584 Midnight Express, and the transformation of a previously vacant lot into a space for reflection and remembrance of the sacrifices of Vietnam War veterans. Free and open to the public.

For more information, visit museumofflight.org.

• Memorial Day Veterans Remembrance Ceremony: 11 a.m., May 27, Veterans Memorial Park, 405 E. St. NE, Auburn. American Legion Post 78, VFW Post 1741 and the Inter-Tribal Warrior Society performing the ceremony. Public invited.

• Memorial Day program: 1 p.m. May 27, Tahoma National Cemetery, Main Flag Pole Assembly Area, 8600 SE 240th St., Kent. Gold Star families will share stories as keynote speakers. Weather permitting, the ceremony will kick off with a flyover by the Steerman Group using World War II bi-planes. Parking space is limited in the cemetery. Visitors should plan on walking to and from their parking spot to the ceremony. Parking is available for disabled passengers and drivers with a shuttle to and from the ceremony assembly area.

For more information, call the cemetery’s office at 425-413-9614.