Staff reports
Beaufort residents and visitors alike turned out Monday, May 25, 2026, to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country on Memorial Day.
The Memorial Day weekend, which culminated Monday with the annual parade the ceremony that follows at the Beaufort National Cemetery, got underway on Friday.
At the annual Flags In event, beginning at 6 p.m., on Friday, May 22 at the main flagpole in Beaufort National Cemetery, gravesite flags were distributed to volunteers to be placed on all 24,000 gravesites.
The Gullah Traveling Theater performed “Decoration Day” as a part of the 41st Annual Original Gullah Festival on Thursday, May 21, and Saturday, May 23, at the USCB Center for the Arts in Beaufort. The play explored themes of freedom, resilience, and community, offering audiences a deeply immersive and inspiring experience that commemorates an important chapter in Gullah and American history.
On Sunday, May 24, there was a 3 p.m. church service at Tabernacle Baptist Church sponsored by the Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War and the Women’s Relief Corps. After the service, the congregation made its way down to Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park and threw flowers into the Beaufort River in honor of the nation’s dead at sea.
Beginning at 10 a.m., on Monday, May 25, people lined the streets of the annual parade route, from Boundary Street to Carteret Street to Bay Street.
Grand Marshals for this year’s parade were two U.S. Army World War II veterans, both more than 100 years old – Master Sgt. Danile N. Mack and Pfc. Paul Logan.
When the parade had come to an end, the annual Memorial Day ceremony was held at the Beaufort National Cemetery.
After the ceremony, there was a brief gathering near 2248 Boundary Street, where theCity of Beaufort welcomedcommunity members tocommemorate the relocation of the 1st South Carolina Volunteers of African Descent historic marker to its new permanent home from its former location adjacent to the Beaufort National Cemetery on Boundary Street.
The new site is thefuture site of the 1st South Carolina Volunteers of African Descent Memorial Park.
