The Jefferson City Veterans Council will not hold its usual Memorial Day ceremony at Jefferson City National Cemetery, after the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs barred large public events at national cemeteries, but the cemetery will be open for visitation.
While large public ceremonies cannot be held at national cemeteries because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the VA "will still honor veterans and service members with the solemn dignity and respect they have earned through their service and sacrifice," the department announced Wednesday.
"Each VA national cemetery will conduct a brief wreath-laying ceremony, accompanied by a moment of silence and the playing of Taps. In keeping with CDC guidelines to limit large gatherings, the ceremonies will not be open to the public," according to the VA's news release.
All national cemeteries will be open for public visitation from dawn to dusk on Memorial Day weekend.
The VA noted cemetery visitors are asked to maintain physical distancing and to consider visiting Friday, Saturday or Sunday to avoid possible crowds on Memorial Day itself, which is May 25.
The Jefferson City Veterans Council had already released the program for its now canceled Memorial Day ceremony and had been prepared to incorporate social distancing into the event.
Don Hentges, president of the Jefferson City Veterans Council, said the organization may yet decide to mark Memorial Day somewhere else.
Meanwhile, the VA is launching a new digital way for the public to pay tribute - the Veterans Legacy Memorial.
The website contains a memorial page for each veteran and service member interred in a VA national cemetery, and starting today the site will permit online visitors to leave a comment of tribute on a veteran's page.
The Veterans Legacy Memorial is at vlm.cem.va.gov.