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Memorial Day Weekend: Honoring Those Who Served (photos)

By Jeff Malet • May 29, 2019 0 2728

Quantico Boy Scout Troop 176 of Quantico, Virginia, during the playing of taps on Memorial Day in Washington, D.C. Photo by Jeff Malet.

Monday, May 27, marked Memorial Day, when all Americans paused to remember and honor the dedication and sacrifice of the men and women of the U.S. armed forces to defend our way of life. It was also the culmination of Memorial Day weekend, traditionally the start of the summer season.

The nation’s largest single event on the holiday is the National Memorial Day Parade down Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C., now entering its 15th year. The nation’s capital is also the location of singular events, such as the National Memorial Day Concert on Sunday evening on the U.S. Capitol’s West Lawn.

This year also saw the 32nd and final scheduled gathering of Rolling Thunder for its First Amendment Demonstration Run motorcycle rally, along with a candlelight service at the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

View Jeff Malet’s photos from Memorial Day weekend in Washington, D.C., by clicking on the photo icons below.

: Mary Jane Gerity holds a torch for her late brother PFC Charles Sumner Walsh, USMC, who was killed in Vietnam on March 15,1968. He was 19 years old. Rolling Thunder riders held a candlelight vigil at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to honor and remember the fallen on Friday, May 24. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Rolling Thunder riders held a candlelight vigil at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to honor and remember the fallen, in Washington D.C. on Friday, May 24. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Rolling Thunder Demonstration Ride on Sunday attracted over a million riders and spectators. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Ellie from Mitchell, South Dakota places a carnation on a Memorial Day wreath at the U.S. Navy Memorial. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Gathering to watch the National Memorial Day Concert dress rehearsal on the Capitol West Lawn on Saturday night. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: National Memorial Day Concert – National Anthem performed by Alyssa Raghu. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Member of the Color Guard representing the Coast Guard at the National Memorial Day Concert. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Memorial Day Concert hosts Joe Mantegna and Mary McCormack. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: National Memorial Day Concert on the Capitol West Lawn during Saturday dress rehearsal. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Gavin DeGraw at the piano during the National Memorial Day Concert, backed by singers of the service choirs. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: National Memorial Day Concert – Jaina Lee Ortiz tribute to SFC Collin J. Bowen. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: National Memorial Day Concert – Amber Riley sings “Ill Stand by You” (photo by Jeff Malet)

: National Memorial Day Concert – Alison Krauss sings “Amazing Grace” (photo by Jeff Malet)

: National Memorial Day Concert – Patti LaBelle sings “Hero”. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Quantico Boy Scout Troop 176 of Quantico, Virginia, during the playing of taps on Memorial Day in Washington, D.C. Photo by Jeff Malet.

: Michael Kelley from Arnold Md. is a member of Sons of the American Revolution (calling in by cell phone) (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Camouflaged Sisters address issues important to women in uniform. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Melvin Morris received the Medal of Honor for his valorous actions on September 17, 1969, while commanding the Third Company, Third Battalion of the IV Mobile Strike Force near Chi Lang, Vietnam. Then-Staff Sgt. Morris led an advance across enemy lines to recover the body of a fallen sergeant. Morris single-handedly destroyed an enemy force with a bag of grenades in a series of bunkers that was pinning his battalion down. Morris was shot three times during that engagement. Photo by Jeff Malet.

: Alan Fitzpatrick flew in B17 bombers in the Army Air Corp. in Europe. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Coast Guard Seaman Matthew Lesyk will march in the color guard. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Mathew Hill from the Air Force Singing Sergeants sings America the Beautiful, accompanied by the Memorial Day Festival Choir. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard marching platoon. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: The Civil Air Patrol carry a large American Flag. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Watching the parade, Lieutenant General John M. Jansen, USMC (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Brigadier General Richard Stephen “Steve” Ritchie and wife Mariana. Ritchie joined Navy Commander Randy Cunningham as the only two pilots (along with three airborne navigators) among the five American aces during the Vietnam War. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Admiral Karl L. Schultz assumed the duties as the 26th Commandant of the United States Coast Guard on June 1, 2018. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Musician First Class Dennys Moura sang “Amazing Grace” – Musician First Class Ben Hauser played taps. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: WWII Jeep (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Ellie (age 7) from Washington D.C. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Original WW1 ambulance. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Youth volunteers marching for the “Keep the Spirit of ’45 Alive” project. Photo by Jeff Malet.

: The Famous Idaho Potato Tour. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Alice (Texas) High School Marching Band. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: A riderless horse is a single horse, without a rider, and with boots reversed in the stirrups, which sometimes accompanies a funeral procession. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: The United States Navy Ceremonial Band (photo by Jeff Malet)

: U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard Drilll Team (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Actor Joe Montegna. (photo by Jeff Malet)

: Between 1942 and 1949, approximately 20,000 African-American men completed recruit training and became known as the “Montford Point Marines.” (photo by Jeff Malet)