Cemetery is located off Cave Creek and Pinnacle Peak roads, with access off Pinnacle Peak
In honor of Memorial Day there are many events happening at the VA National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona. Memorial Day was officially established in 1868, so this year marks the 140th commemoration of our fallen veterans and those who willingly serve our country to preserve our American freedoms.
This Saturday morning, May 24 from approximately 7 to 9 a.m. Boy Scout and Girl Scout Troops will decorate the VA's National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona's 48,000 gravesites and columbarium with small American Flags.
On Monday, May 26, at 8 a.m. Memorial Day observances will be held at VA's National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona located at 23029 N. Cave Creek Road in Cave Creek. The ceremony includes a fly over by military jets, patriotic songs sung by Sergeant First Class Vernon West and the 108th Army Band, a parade of colors, placing of wreaths, rifle volleys and other remembrances. Governor Janet Napolitano will read the proclamation.
This will be the first year that the event will include the new carillon bells. This structure was placed in the cemetery last year and it is 30 feet tall. Patriotic songs are played each hour on the hour. The carillon was funded by the American Veterans (AMVETS) organization and the National Memorial Cemetery Support Committee of Arizona.
For further information about the placing of flags or the ceremony, please contact VA's National Memorial Cemetery at 480-513-3600. The address to the cemetery is 23029 N. Cave Creek Road in Phoenix, 85024.
More about Memorial Day:
From 1866-1869 there was a large effort in our growing country to honor and remember our nation's fallen veterans. In 1866 Columbus GA and Columbus MS created the first Memorial Association to care for graves of Union and Confederate War Dead. A year later in Waterloo NY, businesses flew the flag at half-staff and decorated graves of fallen soldiers. Then in 1868 the first observation of Decoration Day occurred on May 30 and that following year in 1869 Public Law 90-363 called for a united annual observance of Memorial Day on the last Monday in May.
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