Veteran's Day at Parsons Cemetery

“Protecting our future by remembering our past,” in the words of the Doughboy Foundation (DF), Parsons Cemetery joins others across the country in its annual Bells of Peace Ceremony this Veteran’s Day.

Initiated in 2018 to commemorate the World War I Armistice's 100th anniversary, this ceremony at 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month honors all Americans who have served their nation and the cherished peace we enjoy because of their dedication and sacrifice, the DF said.

At 11 a.m. that Saturday, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, which owns Parsons Cemetery, will ring its tower bell 21 times. The church’s 8:30 a.m. prayer service will also honor the sacrifice of veterans. It usually lasts about half an hour.

At Parsons, the on-sit office opens at 10 a.m. with a display of Dr. Brent Zaprowski's new and unpublished Veteran's Self-guided Walking Tour memorializing the WWI veterans. Some 300 veterans of the “War to End All Wars” are interred at the cemetery, said Zaprowski, a member of the Parsons Advisory Committee. The office will remain open until 11:30 a.m. and all are invited. At 10:15 a.m., a guided walking tour starts, focusing on the graves of all veterans, from the War of 1812 onward. Carol Smith, who drafted the original tour, will lead. A moment of silence will be observed as the "Bells of Peace" ring. Some 1,238 men from Wicomico County were mobilized during WWI, Zaprowski added, and worldwide over nine million combatants and seven million civilians died.

Smith, also an advisory committee member and history buff, said the first public celebration of Armistice Day was in 1919. In 1954 it was renamed Veterans Day.

All are invited to the St. Peter’s prayer service and to Parsons for the walking tours. St. Peter’s is located at 115 St. Peter’s St. downtown. Parsons is located at 912 N. Division St. For more information call 410-749-6571.