A county-wide ceremony for Memorial Day will be held Monday at the Fayetteville city cemetery starting sharply at 11 a.m., organizers said.

Also, on Saturday the city will host the Army Ground Forces Band at a free concert featuring patriotic music starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Villages Amphitheater in downtown Fayetteville.

The cemetery location provides a somber backdrop for the annual Memorial Day ceremony as several American war veterans are interred there.

Speakers will include Fayetteville historian John Lynch, who will share details about the veterans interred at the cemetery and ret. Maj. Gen. Ted Mallory. The keynote message will come from ret. Army Col. Ed Sherwood, who also serves as a pastor.

Music will be provided the Whitewater High School brass ensemble.

The ceremony will end with the playing of “Taps” and a musket volley from the Sons of the American Revolution.

In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will take place at the nearby Log Cabin of American Legion Post 105, which is hosting the ceremony. The Log Cabin is located on Ga. Highway 85 south just across the street from the Fayette County administrative complex.

Each American veteran interred at the cemetery will have a flag placed on their headstone in their honor on Sunday by a team of Boy Scouts, Niebes said.

Persons attending the ceremony are asked to park at the nearby parking lot of the Fayette County Board of Education and walk to the cemetery, where parking is extremely limited. The start time was set in part to allow an opportunity for those who want to attend the ceremonies in Fayetteville and Peachtree City, which gets off to a 9 a.m. start.

Headquartered at Fort McPherson, the Army Ground Forces Band has twice been awarded the internationally acclaimed Colonel George S. Howard Citation of Musical Excellence for Military Concert Bands. The musicians of the Concert Band are among the finest in the Army Band Program, with many having studied music at some of the finest universities and conservatories, both in the United States and abroad.

The band’s members frequently share these talents with music students of all ages through the Army Ground Forces Band’s Education Outreach Program.

Under the direction of the band’s commander, Major Daniel J. Steiger, this talented group maintains a large and varied repertoire that includes all facets of traditional and contemporary wind literature, as well as orchestral transcriptions, marches, instrumental and vocal solos, popular tunes, and patriotic music.

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