ELKINS — Residents have the opportunity to honor veterans during the annual Memorial Day Celebration at the All-Veterans Memorial on Monday.

“Memorial Day is a day of memory for those people that didn’t come home,” said American Legion Post 29 Adjutant Mike Cardinal. “There are a lot of people that just didn’t come home and Memorial Day is the day that we remember them. We try to keep it alive as long as possible, because when you look at the bigger cities, people are forgetting and just don’t care anymore.” 

The event, hosted by the H.W. Daniels American Legion Post 29, will begin at 11 a.m. and will feature the laying of wreaths and other tributes throughout the ceremony. The guest speaker will be Elkins High School student Juliann Harlan, who captured the American Legion Department of West Virginia Oratorical Contest this year.

Harlan, a freshman at EHS, is just one of seven students at the school to ever win the state competition. She advanced to the national contest in Hillsdale, Michigan after claiming the West Virginia title.

Harlan will be joined by City of Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco, who will welcome those in attendance. The Highland Adventist School Choir will also be on hand to sing the National Anthem and America the Beautiful.

The upcoming three-day weekend will mark the unofficial start of summer and according to Cardinal, many people have forgotten what the holiday is all about.

“A lot of people see it as a holiday that just gives them another day off,” he said. “They have forgotten the meaning of it, which is to remember those who didn’t come home and back to their families … It’s a shame that a lot of people have lost the meaning of what Memorial Day is. It’s important to remember everyone who paid the price for what we have.”

Memorial Day, which is observed on the last Monday in May each year, became an official federal holiday in 1971. It was created as a day to remember and honor the men and women who have been killed in U.S. wars throughout history. It was originally known as Decoration Day and began during the American Civil War when citizens placed flowers on the graves of those who had been killed in battle. 

On Saturday at 9 a.m., members of Post 29 will take 700 flags to the Little Arlington Cemetery where the Legion Riders and Boy Scout Troop 88 will help place the flags on graves at the cemetery.

Before the ceremony on Monday, Post 29 will also place flags alongside several streets in downtown Elkins. The flags will then be removed later that evening.