City of New Haven Office of the Mayor Veterans’ Affairs Advisory Committee
NEW HAVEN – Commemorating the men and women who died while in military service, the 2018 City of New Haven Memorial Day ceremonies and concert will coincide with centennial remembrances of two American wars.
On Sunday, May 27, Elm City and regional residents are invited to attend two traditional wreath-laying ceremonies and the 21st Annual Memorial Day Concert. Memorial Day this year is especially poignant because it will commemorate the centennial of America’s involvement in World War I and the semicentennial of the deadliest year of the Vietnam War.
At 1:00 p.m., there will be a wreath laying ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park on Long Wharf Drive. Vietnam War and Battle of Khe Sanh Veteran Dennis Mannion will be the featured speaker. The former Sheehan High School English teacher and Marine served on Hill 861 as an Artillery Forward Observer during one of the most brutal battles of the war. Col. Kenneth Gertz (Ret.) is the master of ceremonies and Joanne Papapietro the soloist.
At 3:00 p.m., there will be a second wreath laying ceremony at the World War Memorial Flagpole on the New Haven Green. Kevin Creed, Volunteer CEO, Director & Founder of Friends of Fischer House be the featured speaker. Fischer House, which builds and maintains long-term residential facilities near military hospitals nationwide, broke ground in April 2017 on a new house at the VA Medical Center in West Haven. Master Sgt. Frank Alvarado (Ret.) will be the master of ceremonies and Ruth Rosa the soloist.
At 5:00 p.m., Orchestra New England (orchestranewengland.org) will headline a free and family-friendly patriotic concert at the John Lyman Center for the Performing Arts (501 Crescent St., New Haven) on the Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) campus. Attorney William Dow III will read “Remembrance Day” by Christine Ann Maxwell-Osborn.
To reserve concert tickets, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to:
New Haven Memorial Day Concert
c/o City of New Haven
165 Church St. New Haven, CT 06510
Attn: Ms. Pattie Lawlor
Requests for free tickets may also be made by FAX at 203-946-2998 or call the Mayor’s Office at 203-946-8200 with questions. ###
