Every year, Forest Lawn invites the community to attend a series of events dedicated to the remembrance of veterans who have served in the US military.
On Sunday, May 29, The Grand Army of the Republic ceremony will be held, which recognizes Civil War veterans – specifically Union veterans who served between 1861 and 1865. It wasn’t until 1868 that Memorial Day was officially recognized – flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. It is interesting to note that NY State was the first state to recognize Memorial Day – five years after it was established.
Below you will find the correlating days and times for Memorial Day weekend ceremonies. The public is invited to attend these events.
Sunday, May 29, 2016
11:00 a.m.
Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Ceremony
The Sons & Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War will hold their annual ceremony at the GAR Monument in Section 14 of Forest Lawn to honor those veterans from the Civil War buried in that section.
Monday, May 30, 2016
8:00 a.m. Decoration of Graves
9:00 a.m. Commencement of Services Erie County American Legion Ceremony
The Erie County American Legion will host its annual ceremony at Forest Lawn to honor, recognize and salute veterans. At 8:00 a.m., flags will be placed on the graves of veterans buried in the Field of Valor® and in the American Legion section of Forest Lawn. At 9:00 a.m., the ceremony will begin in front of the American Legion Memorial Monument in the Veterans section, near the Main Street Gates.
Forest Lawn | 1411 Delaware Ave, Buffalo, NY (map)
All events are free and open to the public, and will take place rain or shine.
As an aside, Forest Lawn is also involved in an ongoing project that is attempting to locate photographs of every Vietnam veteran that appears on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. Called “Wall of Faces”, the initiative has already photo-identified 46,000 of the 58,000 service members on the Wall. Forest Lawn is reaching out to the public to help locate photos of the additional 12,000 soldiers/veterans whose names don’t have an accompanying photo. The project is being headed up by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF). The public is invited to bring in photos of those with names on the Wall. Photos can be dropped off at the Wendt Center at any time during business hours*.
*Forest Lawn staffers will scan and return them to the owner, then ensure that they are transmitted to the VVMF for inclusion in the “Wall of Faces” project. There will be no charge for this assistance. The Wendt Center is located on the grounds of Forest Lawn at 1900 Main Street (directly across from Canisius College). It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.