Joint Veteran’s Committee Contact:
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ALBANY, NY – Mayor Kathy Sheehan and Joint Veteran’s Committee Chairman Mark Rosenzweig announced that the City of Albany 2021 Memorial Day Parade, originally scheduled for Monday, May 31, will not take place as planned due to the continued COVID-19 restrictions around mass gatherings and events. In its place, the Joint Veteran’s Committee will hold a solemn wreath laying at Mater Christi Memorial Grove, located at 162 South Lake Avenue at 10 am, and at the Vietnam Monument and at the Gold Star Family's Monument in Lafayette Park on Washington Avenue opposite the NYS Capitol at 11am on Monday, May 31.
The Albany High School JROTC Color Guard and American Gold Star Mothers Chapter 11 will assist in these services. Speakers will include Gold Star Father Gerry Seyboth, American Gold Star Mother Kim VanDenburg, and Joseph Pollicino, president of Tri-County Council Vietnam Era Veterans. Maria Murzda of NYS Department of Corrections Emerald Society Pipe Band will play "Amazing Grace" and Albany High JROTC Cadet Keyorrie Wilson will sing the National Anthem.
“It is always a distinct privilege to help honor all those who have sacrificed so much for our country’s freedoms on Memorial Day,” said Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan. “Even though we will not be able to honor our fallen veterans as we are accustom to with a parade again this year, it is still incredibly important to keep all those who have lost their lives in our hearts and minds on Memorial Day, and every day.”
“On Memorial Day, please, with your families take a moment to remember those that have given the ultimate sacrifice and our Sisters and Brothers who have gone before us,” said Mark Rosenzweig, Chairman of the Joint Veteran’s Committee. “Lest we never forget.”
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