Multiple communities across the United States held large parade processions and wreath-laying ceremonies on Monday, May 25, 2026, to honor fallen military service members while monitoring inclement weather conditions.
Organizers in Thomasville, North Carolina, expected thousands of attendees for the city's annual event, one of the largest Memorial Day tributes in the Southeast with over 30 years of history.
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The event includes military personnel from all armed forces branches, military bands, paratroopers, Purple Heart recipients, wartime helicopters, and specific recognition for local and state Gold Star families.
Rain or Shine
David Yam, an event organizer, confirmed that the Thomasville festivities would proceed regardless of the rainy weather. Tents were erected for honored guests and dignitaries.
"The event is still going to go on rain or shine," Yam said.
Yam advised attendees to bring umbrellas and utilize awnings along Salem Street, though some convertibles used for dignitaries might require tops to be raised.
"We might not have some of the convertibles here or something," Yam added.
Meanwhile, the Larchmont-Edgewater Civic League in Norfolk hosted its fourth annual 1.2-mile Memorial Day parade, community fair, and wreath service on Monday morning from St. Patrick Catholic School to Larchmont United Methodist Church.
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The Norfolk event named Lt. Col.
Brandon Shah as the honorary grand marshal, paying tribute to the late Old Dominion University ROTC instructor who was killed during an on-campus shooting in March.
Michael Crockett, president of the Larchmont-Edgewater Civic League, emphasized that Shah embodied the true meaning of the commemorative holiday.
"He's a wonderful local example for people to look up to and say, 'this is what it's all about.
This is the price of freedom,'" Crockett said.
Additional regional commemorations took place throughout Hampton Roads, including Portsmouth’s 142nd Annual Memorial Day Parade on High and Court streets, a ceremony at the Albert G.
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Horton Junior Memorial Veterans Cemetery in Suffolk, and an indoor musical ceremony at the Virginia Beach convention center.
