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Misty rain forced part of Falls Church’s Memorial Day observance indoors, but it did little to discourage the crowds who gathered for a full day of remembrance, community traditions and family activities.

Hundreds began the morning with the annual June and Mike Beyer Foundation 3K Fun Run at 9 a.m. Participants wound through tree-lined neighborhood streets, with many wearing commemorative shirts from previous years.

The weather moved the Greater Falls Church Veterans Council’s 11 a.m. ceremony from the Veterans Memorial to the Community Center gym. Later, spectators in rain gear lined Park Avenue for the city’s annual Memorial Day Parade, cheering floats and marching groups as they passed.

A VA250 Mobile Museum commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary remained open during the festivities. Children rode miniature ponies, bounced on inflatables and sampled amusement rides, while food trucks served visitors along Little Falls Street.

A tradition spanning generations

Charley O’Hara, who has served on the Recreation and Parks Advisory Board for 35 years, completed the 3K and said the turnout was remarkable given the conditions.

O’Hara grew up on Park Avenue and remembers when the procession traveled along Broad Street before turning onto Park Avenue. At the time, he said, it was widely known as the Firemen’s Parade because firetrucks came from across Northern Virginia and as far away as Winchester.

The celebration has evolved with new vendors and the addition of the Fun Run. O’Hara said one of its pleasures is seeing participants wear shirts from different years before discovering the color of the newest shirt at the finish.

More important, he said, is the sight of several generations taking part together—walking, pushing strollers and continuing a family tradition despite the rain.

Nancy DeLew, a longtime Falls Church resident and career U.S. Treasury Department civil servant, said she returns to the Fun Run each year because it brings neighbors of every age together.

Amy Sonderman completed the course with her husband, her fifth-grade daughter from Oak Street and their dog, Bella. Sonderman described the outing as more of a walk than a run and said it offered a chance to reconnect with friends and make plans for the holiday. Bella, she joked, wanted to go home when the route passed their house.

For Sonderman, the day was also an opportunity to remember the importance of democracy and the ties that unite people.

Meade Atkeson said his family has participated nearly every year since moving to Falls Church in 1993. Over time, five children, dogs and other relatives have joined the tradition. Although the rain caught him after he left home, he said the cooler weather made the course comfortable.

Memorial Day, Atkeson said, begins with remembering those who gave their time, resources and lives to keep the country safe.

Veterans reflect on sacrifice

At the emergency medical tent, Falls Church City Volunteer Fire Department Chief Kelly Brown reflected on the holiday as a 26-year U.S. Army veteran.

Brown said Memorial Day is a time to honor those who died for the nation’s freedoms. Celebrations are appropriate, she said, but people should pause to remember why those celebrations are possible.

She had recently attended Special Operations Forces Week in Tampa, where she saw friends who had performed extraordinary service. On Memorial Day, she said, she remembers them and other service members who never returned.

Bill Hamill, a career Navy veteran and 30-year Falls Church resident, wore a Navy cap and a shirt marking the Marine Corps’ 250th anniversary as he completed the 3K.

Hamill participates every year, though he walks rather than runs to spare his knees. His grandfather served a career in the Marine Corps, and Hamill said the holiday reminds him of people he knew who made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as those still serving in harm’s way.

Justin Fraser wore a Coast Guard shirt in support of a relative in that branch and of the nation’s other military services. His extended family includes multiple veterans, including a grandfather who was a Marine. He particularly remembered his late brother-in-law, who served in the Air Force.

Fraser said the holiday’s purpose extends beyond its social events, though he welcomed the chance to see neighbors and look ahead to the country’s 250th birthday.

Shields recounts a family’s wartime loss

Inside the Community Center, parade grand marshal Mary Jo West conducted the Falls Church Concert Band in patriotic selections.

The ceremony opened with the posting of the colors by American Legion Post 130 and an invocation from Sydney Michaeli, cantor at Temple Rodef Shalom. Mayor Letty Hardi spoke about honoring those who died in service and preserving Falls Church’s civic spirit.

Harry Shovlin of the Greater Falls Church Veterans Council then introduced keynote speaker Wyatt Shields, who was approaching retirement after 23 years as city manager.

Shields thanked military members in attendance and recognized Shovlin’s work for local veterans. He said Veterans Day and Memorial Day call residents to renew their commitment to the country and their communities, with Memorial Day carrying a particular obligation for civilians to honor those who gave their lives.

He also reflected on his son Carlos, who had returned from training as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Carlos led him to the biblical call from Isaiah: “Here am I. Send me.”

For Shields and his wife, Patty, their son’s service has made the consequences of that call more immediate. Shields noted that the passage does not promise an easy path; it describes a prophet whose warnings go unheard as cities and fields fall into ruin.

That theme led Shields to the story of his great-uncle Roger Shields, an artistic man and writer from Silver Spring who had a wife and two young children when he was drafted during World War II.

Roger Shields mustered at Fort Meade, trained at A.P. Hill and deployed to England as a private first class on Nov. 19, 1944. He landed in France in January as Allied forces reclaimed territory lost after the Battle of the Bulge.

Serving with the 417th Regiment of the 76th Infantry Division, he marched east into Belgium. On the night of Feb. 6, 1945, he was killed under fire while crossing the Somme River, only minutes into his first serious engagement with German forces.

His parents, Haddie and George Shields of Silver Spring, learned of his death in late March. About a month later, victory in Europe brought national celebration while Roger’s family remained in grief.

Roger’s brother Fred, Shields’ grandfather, eventually settled his family in Northern Virginia. He carried that loss into a life of community and military service as a judge advocate general lawyer working in the military justice system.

Shields connected his family’s experience to Isaiah’s image of a stump that still holds the seed of new life. Veterans from Roger’s regiment returned home and helped build a new America. Falls Church City was created in 1948 amid the faith and optimism of that postwar generation, he said.

Veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf wars and the War on Terror also returned to Falls Church and helped shape the community. Their work, Shields said, honored those whose names now appear on the plaque at the Community Center.

Memorial Day also requires confronting the costs of war, he said. A free people may question their government, their leaders and even their civic faith—but once resolved to act, they can become a powerful force.

Shields closed with the story of Sonny Berry, who has volunteered with the Falls Church Sheriff’s Office for 20 years. Berry, raised in a military family that struggled to put down roots, told Shields he finally found those roots in Falls Church.

More than 10% of Falls Church households include an active-duty service member or veteran, Shields said. He ended by expressing hope that military families, like Berry, would find a lasting home in the city.