Manchester was the only Cape Ann community that held an in-person Memorial Day in 2020. In light of COVID-19 and the state’s tentative and phased return from mass quarantine, Rockport, Essex, and Gloucester opted out of actual community events to mark fallen soldiers in US wars. Typically, Memorial Day starts with a small morning ceremony and gun salute, a casting of poppies and a wreath into the harbor (for fallen soldiers at sea), and then the uniformed, three-mile parade of veterans and Auxiliary members, police, elected officials, scout troops and the high school band together marching through town to Rosedale Cemetery for the bigger ceremony with the reading of “Flanders Field.”
This year was different. And beautiful.
Keywords
memorial day,
american legion post 113,
celebration
