Memorial Day 2026: A Service of Remembrance

Description

Veterans Not Forgotten, Memorial Day 2026: Service of Remembrance Oak Harbor, WA, May 25, 2026, 10 am The Pacific Northwest Naval Air Museum and the American Legion George Morris Post 129 will remember Memorial Day this year with the 8th Annual Service of Remembrance. The ceremony at Oak Harbor’s Maple Leaf Cemetery, 1961 NE 16th Ave, begins promptly at 10 am, with doors at 9 am. All community members are welcome to join us in person for our traditional and reverent Service of Remembrance, or online for our live broadcast on the Oak Harbor Memorial Day YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/@ohmemorialday). Renowned author Stephen Coonts as Guest Speaker; Keynote Speaker Captain Nathan Gammache, Commanding Officer, NAS Whidbey Island; Colors presented by OHHS NJROTC, ORION Sea Cadets, and Sons of the American Revolution with Patriot Guard Riders at Attention. Live music by local artists and the Scottish American Military Society. A traditional VFW, American Legion, and Fleet Reserve wreath laying ceremony is included. Our Service of Remembrance is scheduled to conclude with rendering Military Funeral Honors by active-duty NAS Whidbey Island sailors and a flyover by NAS Whidbey Island Search and Rescue MH-60s. Annually, more than 450 people attend in person. When parking, please look for lot attendants and plan on walking one block to the event space. Golf cart escorts will be available from the parking lots for those who need assistance getting to the site. For those looking to join us in- person from off-island, a special room-block discount rate at veteran-owned Coachman Inn, one mile from Maple Leaf Cemetery, is available. Use code NeverForgotten (case sensitive with no space) to unlock the discount, valid for any length of stay between Thursday, May 21 through Tuesday, May 26. Following the Service of Remembrance at Maple Leaf Cemetery, American Legion George Morris Post 129, Veterans of Foreign Wars Whitehead-Muzzall Post 7392, and Fleet Reserve Association Branch 97 will have a Remembrance Ceremony at Sunnyside Cemetery in Coupeville at 90 Cemetery Road at 1pm. Each of the North Whidbey Island Veteran Service Organizations will present their Memorial Day Commemorations. At 2pm, American Legion George Morris Post 129 will host a community-wide Open House Reception; all are welcome to join. Community volunteers wanted: Saturday, May 23 and Tuesday, May 26 at 10 am, at Sunnyside and Maple Leaf cemeteries concurrently to assist American Legion with Flag-In and Pick-up. Sign- up is not required. Questions, please contact American Legion at 360-675-2411. Join Legionnaire volunteers supported by Sons of the American Revolution and OHHS NJROTC to place and then retrieve flags at veteran graves throughout both cemeteries before and after Memorial Day. According to Chairman Kelly Davidson, “Memorial Day is a relevant and somber holiday that gives us the opportunity to recognize veterans’ sacrifices; our services support those veterans and their families, who are grieving our nation’s heroes who sacrificed their all for our freedoms. All attendees to our service (in-person and online), will leave our event feeling they have honored our servicemen and -women’s legacy; and our youth participating will learn the value and importance of remembering our heritage through traditional, reverent reflection and dedication to mission. Since our first Service of Remembrance in 2019, our audience and participating organizations list has grown four-fold. Our community stands with our veteran neighbors and friends as we reflect on the difficulties of grief, of which we hope to salve with our continued dedication to hosting this important event, to honor those loved ones who paid the ultimate price.”