Reminder: 33rd annual Memorial Day ceremony set for Monday at Edmonds Cemetery

Graves of veterans at the Edmonds Cemetery.
Graves of veterans at the Edmonds Cemetery.

The public is invited to attend the 33rd Annual Memorial Day Observance on Monday, May 25, at 11 a.m. at the Edmonds Memorial Cemetery and Columbarium, 100th Avenue West and 15th Street, one block north of the Westgate QFC. The event will take place rain or shine and is approximately one hour long.

This year is the 70th anniversary of V-J Day, the end of WWII in the Pacific. The observance will feature ceremonial flags on loan by the families of two Pacific WWII veterans: Erwin Schmidt, a Pearl Harbor survivor and a member of the submarine that fired the last torpedo before V-J Day, and Carl Swenson, Captain USNR, a 33-year active and reserve Naval Officer, assigned to a landing craft at Iwo Jima. This year’s special guest will be Robert “Buck” Weaver, an Army Air Corps Pilot assigned to the 5th Air Force 41st Fighter Squadron, who flew 137 combat missions in the Pacific.

Parking within the cemetery is limited to those with handicap-parking permits. Street parking is available along 100th Avenue West and 15th Avenue. Limited seating is available. Guests are encouraged to bring their own folding chairs. Refreshments, including cookies provided by the Lynnwood Emblem Club 366 and coffee provided by Walnut Street Coffee, will be served after the program. Visitors are also invited to stroll the cemetery grounds and take a self-guided tour using one of the cemetery’s walking maps.

The Edmonds Memorial Cemetery was placed on the Washington State Register of Historic Places in 1972 and has over 400 veterans interred. In honor of Memorial Day, graves of all veterans will be marked with a white cross and a miniature U.S. flag.

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