Flags being flown at a previous Memorial Day ceremony. (Photo courtesy of Wally Stephens)

Benicians will have a chance to honor military veterans this Memorial Day as the Benicia Historical Society is hosting its annual Memorial Day ceremony at the Benicia Military Cemetery.

The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. It is expected a military flyover will occur but could change due to circumstances. If the flyover happens, Travis Air Force Base will provide a plane while the San Francisco Coast Guard will provide a helicopter.

Besides the possible flyover, the ceremony will include a color guard made up of members of American Legion Benicia Post 101, VFW Benicia Post 3928, VFW Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion. The Diablo Regional Concert Band will play patriotic music. The Military History Preservation Society performed a rifle salute performed in uniforms from World War II while Col. Lawrence T. Brown, Garrison Commander of the Presidio of Monterey will provide speeches. The master of ceremonies for the event is  Larry J. Miller, retired U.S. Navy Master Chief and president of the Benicia Historical Society.

“A Memorial Day ceremony is a solemn ceremony,” Historical Society Vice President Wally Stephens said. “It is an interesting thing for people especially if they haven’t seen it before.”

This year’s ceremony is dedicated to Harry Wassmann, who died in September. Wassman, the founder of the Benicia Historical Society, began the tradition of the Memorial Day ceremony more than 30 years ago. According to Stephens, the coordinator of the Memorial Day ceremony, the military started the ceremony when troops were stationed in Benicia during the mid-1800s. Through time, the tradition slowly faded away from public consciousness. When Wassmann first re-started the service, only a few dignitaries attended the event. As time went on, it grew to the point where the ceremony became an hourlong event with more than 400 people in attendance at the Benicia Military Cemetery.

“The cemetery is historic, and it is a great place is a great place to hold the ceremony each year,” Stephens said.

The first burial at the Benicia Cemetery occurred in 1849, and according to Stephens, the Cemetery is the oldest U.S. military cemetery in the Pacific U.S. The cemetery not only houses the remains of United States veterans but is also the final resting place for German and Italian prisoners of war from World War II, as well as several service pets.

“We have some very patriotic people around,” Stephens said. “We even get some World War II-era veterans who managed to make to the ceremony. Last year, we honored the ones who we could find in the Benicia area. There are fewer and fewer of them every year. A few of them do show up, and it is really nice to see them.”

The Memorial Day ceremony begins 10 a.m. at the Benicia Military Cemtery on Hospital Road. To get there, visitors should take Military East through the Arsenal part of town, turn left on Hospital Road and follow signs for the cemetery. Light refreshments are planning to be served after the ceremony.  SolTrans is providing shuttles which will operate from the corner of First and Military that morning, and the schedule for the shuttle will be posted on their site at soltransride.com. It is recommended if visitors are driving themselves, they arrive early for parking as the as the ceremony has been well-attended in prior years. The service is open to the public. For more information, email info@beniciahistoricalsociety.org.

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