Photo Shoot: Memorial Day 2022
If ever there was a year that Memorial Day ceremonies were needed, 2022 is it.
So, the day after the unthinkable happened yet again, this time in Uvalde Texas, there was a photo assignment to cover a Memorial Day observance at the Marguerite Small Elementary in West Yarmouth. I waited in the principal’s office, not a place unknown to this elementary school student back in the day, with the guests of honor until all the students arrived.
The mood was somber. Outside, a perfect May weather day unfolded beneath the school’s flagpole. Retired Dennis Yarmouth High School Principal and Army National Guardsman Tony Morrison went over the program with military perfection.
Joining him were Stephen Boyd, a fellow guardsman; Tim Whelan, retired Marine; Mass. State Police and current state representative and active duty Marine Zachary Wallace, a father of two students at the school.
The students' musical lineup presented a classic of patriotic hits: kindergarten, “Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue;" first grade, “God Bless America;" grade two “You’re a Grand Old Flag;” and a finale by the third grade, “America the Beautiful.”
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My photo focus was on the kids, a sea of faces, singing, waving flags and enjoying the event. The crowd grew quiet as Wallace read a roll call of remembrance wars from the Civil War through Afghanistan. The playing of Taps closed the ceremony.
There were a lot of moist eyes as the bugle’s solemn 24 notes drifted out, past the salutes of the military quartet and over the students. I can’t speak for the kids, but I think all the adults in the crowd realized how lucky we all were to be together in that moment of time.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Memorial Day 2022 at Marguerite Small Elementary Yarmouthport
