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Memorial Day Ceremony – May 26, 2025
On Monday, May 26, at 11:00 a.m., the annual Memorial Day ceremony will be held at the Great Falls Freedom Memorial to honor the residents of Great Falls and all others who have given “the last full measure of devotion” to their country.
Our keynote speaker this year is Bob Wallace, who served in Vietnam with a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol unit (called LERP). After Vietnam, Mr. Wallace spent 33 years with the CIA.
The ceremony will also feature a local Scout Color Guard and patriotic songs performed by professional singers.
The Freedom Memorial is located behind the Great Falls Library at 9830 Georgetown Pike. The ceremony is open to all. Parking is available in the library parking lot. In case of rain, the ceremony will move to either the library meeting room or the Grange. Limited seating will be provided. Attendees are encouraged but not required to bring portable chairs.
Veterans Day Ceremony – Monday, November 11, 2024
November 1, 2024 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
On Monday, November 11, at 11:00 a.m., the annual Veterans Day Ceremony will be held at the Great Falls Freedom Memorial. The ceremony will honor all who have served our country in the Armed Forces.
The keynote speaker is author and Detective Taylor Cleveland, who served as the Senior Line Company Corpsman for India Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment. He was deployed to the Al-Anbar province of Iraq in 2005 where he was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V” device, and the Purple Heart. His book, “Mother’s Day: The Courage & Sacrifice of the 3rd Battalion 25th,” was published in 2023, and he is in his 27th year as a Detective for the Conneaut, Ohio, Police Department.
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The Freedom Memorial is located behind the Great Falls Library at 9830 Georgetown Pike. The ceremony is open to all. Parking is available in the library lot. In case of rain, the ceremony will move to the Grange. Limited seating and shelter will be provided. Attendees are encouraged but not required to bring portable chairs.
Gazette Leader Coverage of 9/11/24 Remembrance Ceremony
9/11 ceremony notes impact on Great Falls, resilience of residents
GazetteLeader
Six residents from community died in 2001 terrorist attacks
Photo 1 / 2 A candlelight vigil was part of the 2024 ceremony in Great Falls marking the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist events.
Photo 2 / 2 Retired U.S. Navy Adm. Lou Crenshaw delivered remarks at the 2024 Great Falls ceremony marking the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
More than 160 members of the Great Falls community and surrounding areas turned out for the annual commemoration of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The event and vigil was held at the Great Falls Freedom Memorial.
“I was one of the lucky ones,” said retired U.S. Navy Adm. Lou Crenshaw, who was in the Pentagon when it was struck by a hijacked airliner.
Others, he noted, were not so fortunate, including six Great Falls residents who were in the hijacked plans that day: Ann Judge, Lisa Rains, George and Diane Simmons, Barbara Olson and U.S. Marine 1st Lt. Richard Gabriel.
“They are all heroes in my book,” Crenshaw said, urging attendees to be prepared for challenges and “develop a mindset to help others by doing things that put other people first.”
“When you see or are involved in the next crisis, or emergency, or difficult situation – turn toward it,” he said. “Because you have discarded the ‘me-too’ attitude, you have the tools to deal with the problem and you remember the footprints left in the sand by Ann, Lisa, George, Diane, Barbara and Richard. That’s the most fitting way to honor them.”
Among those participating in the event were members of Boy Scout Troop 55 (color guard), Erin Gantt (leading the National Anthem) and Jonathan Torres (presenting Taps). Great Falls Freedom Memorial board president Andy Wilson welcomed dignitaries.
Veterans Day Ceremony 2022 Recap
The 2022 Veterans Day Ceremony honored veterans from Great Falls and all who have served in the Armed Forces. The ceremony featured a presentation of the colors by Boy Scout Troop 55, the Pledge of Allegiance led by the Boy Scouts and Brownie Troop 51156, patriotic songs by the Langley Madrigals, and remarks by retired Army Command Sergeant Major Howard E. “Howie” Urban. Video of the ceremony can be seen below or by clicking here.
CANCELED: Memorial Day Ceremony 2021
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and associated restrictions, the 2021 Memorial Day Ceremony will not be held. Those who died to defend freedom in our country will be in our thoughts and prayers.
Veterans Day Ceremony 2019 Recap
The annual Veterans Day Ceremony was held at the Great Falls Freedom Memorial on Monday, November 11, 2019. Below are a video of the event and a story about it in the Great Falls Connection.
Click the image below to read the story in the Great Falls Connection:
How the Freedom Memorial in Great Falls, Virginia came to be
Community, volunteers, public service, duty, honor, country. Built and funded by the community through in-kind and monetary donations. Dedicated November 13, 2004.
Fact sheet prepared by the late Milburn Sanders, the first Secretary of the Friends of the Great Falls Freedom Memorial and founder of the Great Falls Historical Society:
Video about the creation of the Freedom Memorial, produced by Nancy Wilson:
To see remarks in the Congressional Record by Congressman Frank Wolf in recognition of the dedication of the Great Falls Freedom Memorial, click here.
Pictures from the dedication of the Freedom Memorial on November 13, 2004, are available here.
To see the contemporaneous press release from Fairfax County about the dedication ceremony for the Freedom Memorial, click here.