Here's where Memorial Day ceremonies are planned across the Grand Strand, Pee Dee
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Communities across the Grand Strand and Pee Dee will honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our nation's freedom with ceremonies starting on Thursday and continuing through the Memorial Day weekend.
10 A.M. MONDAY: Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony honoring those who have sacrificed all for our freedoms, with music by the Summit Concert Band and a reading of the interred service members at the Dillon Cemetery. Local Boy Scouts will present the colors. The public is encouraged to bring old flags to have them properly retired.
10 A.M. SATURDAY: Florence National Cemetery, 803 E. National Cemetery Road; American flags will be distributed on 15,417 graves throughout the cemetery. Individual volunteers and community groups are encouraged to participate.
10 A.M. MONDAY: Florence National Cemetery, 803 E. National Cemetery Road; a ceremony to honor and remember the men and women of the U.S. armed forces. Park at the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, 714 E. National Cemetery Road, and access the event through a designated gate. Attendees will then proceed to the site adjacent to the walk-through gate entrance to the National Cemetery.
11 A.M. THURSDAY: Robeson Community College, 5160 Fayetteville Road; ceremony begins at the Military Affiliated Resource Center in Building 13 and ends outside near the center's flag poles. The speaker will be Tom Martin, a minister and decorated veteran.
10 A.M. SATURDAY: Spectators can line the streets of Pampas Drive, Howard Avenue and Farrow Parkway to see the Military Appreciation Days parade. The grand marshal will be Col. Thomas 'Buddy' Styers.
11:30 a.m. SATURDAY: Valor Memorial Garden, 1120 Farrow Parkway; following the parade, attendees can attend a free Family Picnic at Grand Park in Market Common. There will be live music, military exhibits, and displays.
11 A.M. MONDAY: Myrtle Beach Convention Center, 2101 N. Oak Street; Memorial Day remembrance ceremony.
10:30 A.M. MONDAY: North Myrtle Beach Memorial Gardens, 65 E. Highway 90, at the corner of Highways 9, 90 and 17 and Nixons Crossroads, Little River; the event will be the group's 74th annual veterans event and celebration. Retired U.S. Marine Col. Mark A. Singleton will be the guest speaker.
In the event of inclement weather, the event will be moved to the Carolina Bays Church, 4360 Big Barn Drive, Little River. Lunch will be provided for veterans and their families.
11 A.M. MONDAY: Memorial Day golf cart parade starting at 16th Avenue N. and traveling south on Ocean Boulevard to Melody Lane.
2 P.M. MONDAY: Service at Memorial Park, located at Surfside Drive and Willow Drive.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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And I was happy that I knew I had at most two months to wait for a decision. Zach Wichter: I've seen in other interviews you've said that you never really considered yourself an activist. So, how did you go from Jim from Ohio to suing the state of Ohio and becoming a gay rights figurehead? Jim Obergefell: I think it just happened. And honestly, it's because of John, because we loved each other and we wanted to exist. Learning that our right to call each other husband and to have it mean something wasn't going to be reflected on his death certificate... I mean, it did, it broke our hearts. But I think the more important thing is it really made us angry, the injustice of it, the harm that it was doing to us. So, I think it was that. It was that I loved John, he loved me back. We finally had the chance to say I do. But then understanding how our home state, the state where I was born and raised, would completely disregard us, made me angry, made us both angry. So, not something I ever thought would happen, but it's amazing what'll happen when you love someone enough, when you're willing to fight for what you know is right, and when you're angry. Zach Wichter: And you mentioned before you were also in DC the day the decision came down. What was that experience like, and what were you thinking about, and what would you have said to John if he was there with you? Jim Obergefell: I'm just holding the hands of friends sitting on either side of me thinking, all right, here it comes, here it comes. And of course I'm thinking, John, I wish you were here, I wish you could experience this, I wish it was your hand I was holding. All I wanted in that moment was to hug and kiss John and say, "Our marriage can never be erased." He wasn't there. I didn't have that joy of sharing that moment with him. I thought about so many people who I had met over the course of the case, the people who were coming up to me and sharing photos and telling me stories and talking about what this potential decision meant to them and what it meant to the person they loved, their child, was thinking about them. And then just the unexpected realization that for the first time in my life as an out gay man, I actually felt like an equal American. I wasn't expecting to feel that. And that was a really beautiful realization. I feel equal. It's about queer kids having a future, knowing that in the words of a mom and dad who stopped me on the street in Philadelphia with their child in a stroller, they said, "Thanks to you and those other plaintiffs, Jim, we know our kid can one day marry the person they love, no matter whom that person is." That's what I think about. So, I don't get too hung up in the "you're a historic figure" because that just, I don't know, feels weird to me. I focus more on the difference the fight I was part of has made for millions of people. Hundreds of thousands of couples have gotten married since June 26th, 2015. And that's something we should celebrate. I'm really, really grateful that I got to be part of that. And it's simply because John and I loved each other and we wanted to exist. Zach Wichter: Jim, thanks for coming on The Excerpt. Jim Obergefell: Thanks for having me. It was great. Zach Wichter: Thanks to our senior producers, Shannon Rae Green and Kaely Monahan for their production assistance. Our executive producer is Laura Beatty. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending a note to podcasts@ Thanks for listening. I'm Zach Wichter. Taylor Wilson will be back tomorrow morning with another episode of The Excerpt.
