Memorial Day will look different in Gainesville this year, but members of Paul E. Bolding American Legion Post 7 say that will be okay as long as the community remembers what the day is really about.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic has put a stop to the annual parade and other events that may draw a crowd, legion members instead plan to display 150 American flags in the undeveloped midtown lot on the south side of the bridge than spans Jesse Jewell Parkway.
"[The flags] will be displayed in 10 rows of 15...spaced at six feet apart...so the display will be about 60 feet across and about 100 feet back," said Legion spokesman Johnny Varner, Jr., noting that American Legion members will privately set up the display themselves to keep control over social distancing.
Even though the community won't be invited to watch the set-up, citizens will still be able to see the flags on display for all of Memorial Day, and Varner said he hopes the display will spark conversation about the true meaning of Memorial Day.
"We think that Memorial Day has been kind of commercialized, you know, and we thought this would be a somber way to send a message that Memorial Day is actually a day for veterans that have served and passed and veterans that have made the ultimate sacrifice during war. We figured this may be a better way for that message to resonate by having the display in the downtown area," Varner said.
Once the flags are in place, Legion members will have a short ceremony with prayer and a 21-gun salute, according to Varner.
"We're keeping this really simple," Varner said. "It's all about the message and the sacrifice."
