Sudbury 2024 Memorial Day Parade, Ceremonies: What To Know

SUDBURY, MA — The upcoming Memorial Day ceremony in Sudbury is part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

The Sudbury 2024 Memorial Day parade and ceremonies on Monday is the highlight of the three-day Memorial Day Weekend — May 25-27 this year.

For this year's parade, a retired Navy captain will serve as the key speaker, and Sudbury students and Girl Scouts will sing traditional songs like the National Anthem.

Here's the 2024 Sudbury parade schedule:

7:30 a.m. Revolutionary War Cemetery and Minuteman Musket Salute
8:00 a.m. School bus departs Town Hall parking lot for north cemeteries.
8:30 a.m. Commemorative ceremonies at Old North Cemetery and New North Cemetery. Minuteman Musket Salute to Patriots at both Cemeteries
9:00 a.m. Parade assembles at Rugged Bear Plaza, 2024 Parade Marshal Navy Captain (Retired) Paul Mawn
9:30 a.m. Parade begins at Rugged Bear Plaza
9:45 a.m. Civil War Monument at Goodnow Library and Minuteman Musket Salute
10:00 a.m. Al Bonazzoli Gravestone at Wadsworth Cemetery and Minuteman Musket Salute
10:10 a.m. United Native American Cultural Council (UNACC) Ceremony at King Philip Monument and Sudbury Minuteman Musket Salute
10:30 a.m. Rabbi Freeman delivers prayer for WWII, Korea, and Vietnam
Service Flags are raised from half-staff to full-staff.
Minuteman Musket Salute
11:00 a.m. Girl Scouts, Brownies, and Cub Scouts join parade at Ascension Parish Church
11:20 a.m. Sudbury Memorial Day Program begins at Grinnell Park in Town Center
The ceremony begins with opening remarks.
National Anthem sung by 6th Grade soloist Saesha Shetiya
Minuteman Musket Salute
Steve Milley delivers prayer for Memorial Day Main Event
Capt. (Ret.) USN Paul Mawn delivers remarks.
Sudbury Fyfe & Drum plays Battle Hymn of the Republic
Girl Scouts sing “My Country Tis’ of Thee”
UNACC Ceremony of Peace
Thank You announcements.
Reading veterans who have passed since last Memorial Day
TAPS

The history of Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, dates back to 1868, when Gen. John A. Logan called for a day of remembrance to honor the Northern lives lost amid battle during the Civil War that had ended just a few years earlier, according to History.com. As time passed, more and more people called it Memorial Day, and it became a federal holiday in 1971.

Waterloo, New York, is considered the birthplace of Memorial Day. The town’s observance on May 5, 1866, predated Logan’s call for a day of remembrance. Local businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers and flags.

Until World War I, the holiday honored only those soldiers who died while fighting for the Union in the War, as Southern states honored their war dead on a separate day. After the 116,000-plus American deaths in World War I, the tradition changed to remember all who have died while serving in the military.

Every year, a national moment of remembrance is held at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. No matter where they are or what they’re doing, Americans are asked to pause for one minute in silence to remember military personnel who have given their lives in service to their country. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the midday time was chosen because it’s a time when many Americans will be enjoying their freedoms on a national holiday.