Memorial Day ceremonies in Fayette County to honor America’s military heroes will be held in Fayetteville and Peachtree City on May 28. The ceremony in Peachtree City begins at 9 a.m. and will be followed by the Fayetteville ceremony that begins at 11 a.m.
The Peachtree City Memorial Day ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. after the color guard leads a golf cart procession into the City Hall plaza. The procession will begin at 8:30 a.m. at The Gathering Place. Honors to the flag will be followed by a memorial wreath presentation by local veterans’ organizations. And Lindee Link will perform amid other selections of patriotic music.
The guest speaker will be Peachtree City resident Terry Garlock. A 20-year resident of Peachtree City, Garlock served in Vietnam and, as a Cobra helicopter pilot with the 334th Attack Helicopter Company of the 145th Combat Aviation Battalion, was shot down and was medevaced home.
The annual event is held outdoors at the Veterans’ Memorial in City Hall/Library Plaza unless weather turns inclement, when it is moved across the street to the First Presbyterian Church.
VFW Post 9949, American Legion Posts 50 and 105, the local Marine Corps League detachment and the city’s Recreation and Special Events Department jointly support the event.
Next up at 11 a.m. will be the Fayette County Memorial Day ceremony in Fayetteville, held again this year at the historic Fayetteville Cemetery located on Stonewall Avenue just west of downtown. The annual ceremony will end shortly after noon and is being sponsored by the Fayette County American Legion Post 105.
Speakers at the Fayetteville ceremony will include U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland and state Sen. Ronnie Chance. The keynote speaker will be Dale Barnett, a West Point graduate, retired Army lieutenant colonel, Persian Gulf War veteran, past state Commander for the American Legion, and a member of Post 105.
The National Anthem and Taps will be provided by the Whitewater High School Band. The event will also include the Fayette County High School JROTC “Tiger Battalion” Color Guard. And, as is customary, a musket salute will be provided by the Marquis de Lafayette Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Preparation and ushering for the ceremony will be provided by Boy Scout Troop 309 and American flags will be placed on graves of U.S. veterans on Sunday afternoon by Cub Scout Pack 409.
Residents are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets.
In case of inclement weather the ceremony will be held at the American Legion Log Cabin on South Glynn Street across from the Fayette County government complex.
