Burlington County Memorial Day Ceremony Set For May 30

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — After a virtual ceremony last year, Burlington County will host an in-person Memorial Day Ceremony this weekend, county officials announced.

The ceremony comes amid New Jersey's largest pandemic-related reopening dates yet.
Starting on Friday, people in New Jersey will be allowed to enter retail stores, restaurants, entertainment venues and more without face masks or social distancing in both indoor and outdoor spaces. Read more here: Face Mask Order Lifted: What You Can Do Now Amid COVID In NJ

Burlington County's annual Memorial Day Ceremony is set for 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Veterans Memorial Park, adjacent to the Burlington Township Municipal Complex on Old York Road, county officials announced.

“The past 14 months have been a challenging one for all of us,” said Burlington County Commissioner Director Dan O’Connell, the keynote speaker for this year’s ceremony, said. “Last year, the pandemic required us to hold this ceremony in a virtual space, but we’re grateful that conditions have improved so that we can now hold this important remembrance in-person as we have done for several years now.”

The ceremony takes place May 30, in honor of the holiday’s origin in 1868 when General John A. Logan, a leader of Northern Civil War Veterans, first called for a national day of remembrance for those who died in defense of the country.

The holiday continued to be officially observed every May 30th – no matter what day of the week the date fell on -- until 1971 when the Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect and made Memorial Day a three-day weekend for federal employees.

Col. Kent L. Milliken, a retired officer of the U.S. Army Reserve and New Jersey Army National Guard, will serve as the keynote speaker for this year’s ceremony.

He is a board member and trustee for the New Jersey Friends of the Guard and Reserve and a consultant to several nonprofits and veteran-owned businesses that support the employment and transition of military veterans.

There will also be wreath presentations, and Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Dan O’Connell will deliver remarks on behalf of the Board of Commissioners.

“For the heroes we honor, their service was the ultimate meaning of the word. Many of them laid down their very lives in the defense of our nation and our people,” O’Connell said. “We cannot repay these heroes or their loved ones for all they have given and lost. But just as those we memorialize felt duty-bound to give all, we too have a solemn duty to remember these men and women and honor them.”