Coronavirus forces Americans to honor war dead, and virus fatalities, with online tributes and small processions instead of parades as outbreak’s US death toll nears 100,000

Vietnam Veteran Kitch Kichula, wearing a protective face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus, pays his respects at the at the Vietnam War Memorial on Memorial Day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 25, 2020. (AP/Matt Rourke)
Vietnam Veteran Kitch Kichula, wearing a protective face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus, pays his respects at the at the Vietnam War Memorial on Memorial Day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 25, 2020. (AP/Matt Rourke)

 

AP — Americans settled for small processions and online tributes instead of parades Monday as they observed Memorial Day in the shadow of the pandemic, which forced communities to honor the nation’s military dead with modest, more subdued ceremonies that also remembered those lost to the coronavirus.

On the weekend that marked the unofficial start of summer, authorities warned people heading to beaches, parks or backyard barbecues to heed social-distancing rules to avoid a resurgence of the disease that has infected 5.4 million people worldwide and killed over 345,000, including nearly 100,000 Americans, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Memorial Day commemorations were canceled or toned down across the country. Veterans, along with nursing home residents, have made up a significant proportion of those who died in the US outbreak.

Frank Groblebe and his wife placed lilacs on several graves at Mountview Cemetery in Billings, Montana, including those of his mother and father, who served in the Philippines as a Navy Seabee during World War II. Groblebe said he approved of plans to curtail the ceremony, which included a motorcycle procession and moments of quiet remembrance.

Frank Groblebe places lilacs at the grave of his parents, Frank and Helen Groblebe, at the Mountview Cemetery in Billings, Montana, May 25, 2020. (AP/Matthew Brown)
Frank Groblebe places lilacs at the grave of his parents, Frank and Helen Groblebe, at the Mountview Cemetery in Billings, Montana, May 25, 2020. (AP/Matthew Brown)

 

“This is our freedom. This is our history. It’s what they fought for,” Groblebe said, briefly choking up with tears. “Anything that shows respect for it is all right with me.”

Sharon Oakland placed mums on the grave of her father, also a Navy veteran in World War II. She watched from a distance as the motorcycles rolled by. “What they’ve done is remarkable given what’s going on with the virus,” she said.

The day looked different across the US. The 37,000 American flags traditionally placed on the Boston Common to honor Massachusetts military members who died in service were replaced with just 1,000 flags to limit volunteers and onlookers. In Minneapolis, several bagpipers and drummers lined up outside the Minnesota Veterans Home and played as a parade of cars drove past.

The city of Woodstock, Georgia, held its ceremony online. American Legion Post 316 Commander Julian Windham recognized service members who helped in the global fight against COVID-19.

“Even when the enemy is an invisible virus or a microscopic germ, the sacrifices made are just as meaningful,” Windham said. The ceremony, which included readings, vocal performances and gunshots from a ceremonial rifle team, were filmed over a series of days last week and edited together, Windham said.

San Francisco National Cemetery the day before Memorial Day in San Francisco, California, May 24, 2020. (AP/Jeff Chiu)
San Francisco National Cemetery the day before Memorial Day in San Francisco, California, May 24, 2020. (AP/Jeff Chiu)

 

In Chicago, a neighborhood group that’s been holding a parade for more than a half century also moved its event online, with video clips from previous years and messages from special guests, including veterans and Mayor Lori Lightfoot. In the suburb of Lisle, a convoy of vehicles from fire departments and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts drove silently through village streets.

Fallen military members were honored in New York City with car convoys and small ceremonies.

“It’s something we’re upset about, but we understand,” said Raymond Aalbue, chairman of the United Military Veterans of Kings County, which usually puts on a parade in Brooklyn. There’s “no reason to put anybody in harm’s way,” he said, adding “it’s really cutting quick to the heart of all the veterans.”

On Long Island, a small group of veterans saluted, wearing masks and spaced several feet apart, as a parade of cars passed beneath a large American flag.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo joined a private ceremony at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in Manhattan, with both the sacrifices of military members and the challenge of the coronavirus on his mind.

“Over 100,000 Americans will lose their lives to this COVID virus. How do we honor them? We honor them by growing stronger together,” he said.

“We want to make sure we remember them and thank our heroes today.”

Democratic presidential candidate and former US vice president Joe Biden with his wife Jill Biden pay their respects to fallen service members on Memorial Day at Delaware Memorial Bridge Veteran’s Memorial Park in Wilmington, Delaware, May 25, 2020. (Olivier Douliery/AFP)
Democratic presidential candidate and former US vice president Joe Biden with his wife Jill Biden pay their respects to fallen service members on Memorial Day at Delaware Memorial Bridge Veteran’s Memorial Park in Wilmington, Delaware, May 25, 2020. (Olivier Douliery/AFP)

 

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden made his first in-person appearance in more than two months by laying a wreath at a veterans park near his Delaware home. He wore a face mask as he and his wife bowed their heads in silence. He saluted and could be heard saying “Never forget.”

Biden told reporters, “I feel great to be out here.” He also yelled to a group standing nearby, “Thank you for your service.”

After two days of playing golf, US President Donald Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery, where he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which overlooks rolling hills dotted with white tombstones. He later spoke at Baltimore’s historic Fort McHenry, noting that tens of thousands of service members and national guard personnel are currently “on the front lines of our war against this terrible virus.”

Trump said brave warriors from the nation’s past have shown that “in America, we are the captains of our own fate.”

US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump at a Memorial Day ceremony at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, in Baltimore, Maryland, May 25, 2020. (AP/Evan Vucci)
US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump at a Memorial Day ceremony at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, in Baltimore, Maryland, May 25, 2020. (AP/Evan Vucci)

 

Tens of thousands of Americans still headed outdoors over the weekend to shake off some pandemic restrictions. Missouri’s health director issued a dire warning Monday after photos and video showed weekend revelers partying close together. One video posted on social media showed a crammed pool at Lake of the Ozarks. Many of those seen in the video were young people, who may not experience symptoms.

“When they then carry the virus and transmit it to a more vulnerable person, this is when we tend to see the long-lasting and tragic impact of these decisions that are being made,” said Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Randall Williams. St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson called such high-risk behavior “irresponsible and dangerous.”

As reported by The Times of Israel