National Cemetery Administration
NCA Partners with Carry The Load for "Memorial May"
April 29, 2021
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs' (VA) National Cemetery Administration (NCA) and Carry The Load, a non-profit that provides active ways to connect Americans to the sacrifices of our nation's military, Veterans, first responders and their families, have again partnered this year to honor and remember our nation's heroes.
Beginning April 29 and extending through the Memorial Day weekend, Carry The Load marchers will visit 43 national cemeteries as they complete a 15,500 mile trek across four routes, with all roads leading to a final rally in Dallas over Memorial Day weekend.
"This is the third year the National Cemetery Administration has partnered with Carry The Load," said Acting Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Ronald Walters. "We congratulate them on their 10th anniversary and once again look forward to honoring the fallen and preserving veterans' legacies."
The list of national cemeteries being visited this year can be found at this link: National Cemeteries along CTL Relay in 2021
In keeping with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19, people wishing to participate in different legs of the Carry The Load march should register in advance at www.carrytheload.org, be prepared to wear face masks, and exercise social distancing while visiting any VA national cemetery. Gatherings at national cemeteries will also be subject to size limits.
For those unable to attend, NCA will share video and photographs of the cemetery visits on NCA's Facebook and Twitter pages. This Memorial Day, NCA also encourages people to leave "tributes" on the Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM) site for any Veteran interred in a VA national cemetery. The Veterans Legacy Memorial website is the nation's first digital platform dedicated entirely to the memory of more than 3.7 million Veterans interred in VA's national cemeteries to honor the service and sacrifice of Veterans.
For more information about VA Memorial Day commemorations, contact your local national cemetery or NCA's chief of public affairs, Les' Melnyk, at Les.Melnyk@VA.gov .
