The Virginia War Memorial will honor those who chose to serve in the U.S. armed forces during the 64th annual Commonwealth’s Veterans Day Ceremony Wednesday.
Veterans Day marks the date World War I ended 102 years ago. Although the United States hasn’t formally declared war in over 75 years, Clay Mountcastle, director of the Virginia War Memorial, hopes people come to realize that Americans still serve their nation.
“Service never stops. At any given moment of any given day, there are tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of Americans in uniform all over the globe,” he said.
Gov. Ralph Northam, a veteran of the U.S. Army Medical Corps, will deliver keynote remarks, followed by military music, including a performance by the 380th Army Reserve Band.
While COVID-19 restrictions mean attendance is closed to the public, the event will be broadcast on CBS6 and live-streamed on the Facebook pages of the Virginia War Memorial and the state Department of Veteran’s Services.
Mountcastle said even though the ceremony will be restricted, he encourages people to visit the memorial on a different day.
“We know that they’re going to learn something that they didn’t know when we come to the war memorial,” he said. “We’ve got over 50,000 square feet of exhibit and display space. Whether it’s the medal of honor gallery or our new veteran’s art gallery that shows that veterans can do more than just serve in uniform.”
