Memorial Day program at Illinois Veterans Home first public ceremony since 2019

QUINCY — The Illinois Veterans Home recognized Memorial Day with a Friday program that included a keynote address by Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs Director Terry Prince, patriotic music by the Last Band Standing band, a wreath laying honoring all deceased veterans and a rifle salute and taps by the American Legion Post 37 Honor Guard.

The public ceremony was the first at the home since 2019.

“The Veterans Home at Quincy, which is home to Sunset Cemetery, the final resting place of 8,000 Veterans, is a hallowed place to remember those we have lost,” Prince said in a press release. “This ceremony recognizes the military service and sacrifice of each man and woman laid to rest here who protected our nation in their own way – on and off the battlefield, and they have earned, and frankly, deserve our utmost respect.”

The home held a family picnic for residents and their families afterward.