FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CARBONDALE - The annual Memorial Day Service at Woodlawn Cemetery will begin promptly at 10:00 AM on Monday, May 25, 2026.  

The Keynote Address will be delivered by Desert Storm Army Veteran, Dr. Randy Burnside. 

Honor Guard members, comprised of members from both Fire and Police Departments, will provide Flag Honor services, Pastor Darryl Cox will provide the invocation and benediction, and the 31st Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company C, will be present, bringing history to life with their re-enactments.  

History of Memorial Day at Woodlawn Cemetery  

The first memorial service in Illinois, one of the first in the nation to honor those who had died in the Civil War, took place at Woodlawn Cemetery on April 29, 1866. The Marshal of the Day, Colonel E. J. Ingersoll, and the speaker, General John A. Logan of the Union Army, led a procession to Woodlawn Cemetery.  

Following the Civil War, General Logan became commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. Impressed by the memorial observance at Woodlawn Cemetery, he signed General Order No. 11, setting May 30, 1868, as Memorial Day. Logan hoped the observance would be “kept up from year to year.” By 1888, Memorial Day became a legal holiday in twelve northern states. Later, it became a legal holiday throughout the country. Woodlawn Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 19, 1985, and was designated a Carbondale Historic Landmark on March 8, 1994. 

We hope you join us as this honorable tradition continues here in Carbondale.  

For media requests contact Public Relations Officer, Eva Fisher, at 618-713-0711 or email at efisher@carbondaleil.gov.  

“Carbondale prides itself on providing its visitors, students, businesses and residents with a unique mix of edge and ease. It’s a cultural town, yet free of pretense, embracing the great outdoors as readily as urban sophistication. Here, we are open to new ideas, experiences and cultures, so you are encouraged to both express yourself and be yourself, in all ways. That’s Carbondale…All Ways Open…for family, fun, business, new ideas and a bright tomorrow.”
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