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Vets return to Memorial Day traditions as pandemic eases

Virus Outbreak
Posted at 3:19 PM, May 30, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-30 15:19:01-04

BOSTON-- After more than a year of isolation, American veterans are embracing plans for a more traditional Memorial Day.

They say wreath-laying ceremonies, barbecues at local vets halls and other familiar events are a welcome chance to reconnect with fellow service members and renew solemn traditions honoring the nation’s war dead.

Advocates say it’s also a time to take stock of the veteran lives lost to the coronavirus and to recommit to vaccinating those who remain reluctant.

The isolation of the pandemic has also been particularly hard on veterans, many of whom depend on kinship with fellow service members to cope with wartime trauma.