Coronavirus casts shadow on Memorial Day ceremonies
Marian Nelson pays her respects to her parents James and Carolyn Cash who are buried in the West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery on Memorial Day May 25, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Heather McLean kisses the headstone of her friend's mother and Marine Corps veteran Dorothea "Dottie" Castillo at the West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery on Memorial Day May 25, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Alton Davis lays a single flower on the grave of his good friend, Marine sergeant Keith Wilson, at Memphis National Cemetery on Memorial Day May 25, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Members of Bankhead's Battery load a cannon (minus the artillery) to fire a salute to America's fallen troops during a Memorial Day ceremony at Memorial Park Cemetery May 25, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Kenneth Hiner salutes a monument honoring fallen soldiers at the Memphis National Cemetery off Jackson Avenue after playing the bagpipes on Memorial Day May 25, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Korean War Navy veteran J.C. Benson takes a photo of a Civil War monument at the Memphis National Cemetery on Memorial Day May 25, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
A small crowd gathered to pay their respects during a Memorial Day ceremony at Memorial Park Cemetery May 25, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
If cemeteries held gatherings, they were smaller than previous years. The threat of coronavirus made some alter their plans and cancel their normal gatherings and ceremonies honoring veterans.
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Memorial Day coronavirus Memphis West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery Memphis National Cemetery Memorial Park Funeral Home & CemeteryAbigail Warren
Abigail Warren is a lifelong resident of Shelby County and a graduate of the University of Memphis. She has worked for several local publications and covers the suburbs for The Daily Memphian.
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