Saturday’s Wagner Animal Shelter memorial ceremony honoring the dogs of war and service launches Front Royal Memorial Day events

For the second consecutive year, the Town of Front Royal will mark the three-day Memorial Day weekend with twin ceremonies, one on Memorial Day, May 29, to mark the service of those military men and women who gave their lives for their country during and since World War II, the first two days earlier, Saturday, May 27, to salute the “dogs of war” and service — those animals which served and often gave their lives overseas in defense of their handlers and their country, as well as those that continue to serve on the law enforcement front of this nation. Both ceremonies will commence at noon, and the public is invited to both.

“This year, we want to focus on the service performed by K-9s in domestic settings like Warren and neighboring counties, as well as offering our thanks to the ‘dogs of war’ serving their homeland abroad,” said Malcolm Barr Sr. at 90 a Royal Air Force (UK) veteran who served as England helped regain European equilibrium following the second World War. “For this, I thank the local humane society for setting aside a piece of the animal shelter property for a memorial garden to the dogs of war and service, which opened on this date last year.”

Malcolm Barr Sr. and Valley Chorale board member Pat Casey visit the ‘dogs of war’ memorial site in advance of Saturday’s public program. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

Barr, a lifelong animal advocate and former president of the Humane Society of Warren County (HSWC), points to the appropriateness of such a ceremony in Front Royal and Warren County since it was from a facility on the south side of Front Royal that fully trained war dogs were first sent into battle in the Pacific after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Dec 7, 1941.

The salute to the service dogs will be highlighted this year by opening and closing songs by members of the magnificently voiced Valley Chorale at the Julia Wagner Animal Shelter site at 1245 Progress Drive; an address by visiting Voice Of America D.C. correspondent Steve Herman, a former Associated Press colleague of Barr, who upon learning of the planned war dog memorial service from his friend expressed an interest in the event; and a local law enforcement K-9 guard of honor at the laying of a wreath at the Wagner Shelter Memorial Garden site.

Recently, HSWC Executive Director Meghan Bowers said, “I am proud that the shelter can host such an important and eye-opening memorial. Dogs have served an important part in our day-to-day lives as companions and best friends, but we cannot forget the other ways in which they have enriched our lives.”

The statue of a German Shepherd ‘war dog’ guards the site 24-7. He has been named ‘Ben’ by event organizers.

The Saturday event begins at noon and should last about 50 minutes, Barr told his colleagues at Royal Examiner. Police and sheriff’s department officers will provide a guard of honor at a wreath-laying ceremony before the choral group signifies the end of the service with a rendering of the National Anthem. Snacks and tours of the shelter will be offered following the memorial service.

Monday’s traditional Memorial Day ceremony two days later honoring all those military men and women who lost their lives in not only World War II but all the conflicts since involving Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan will also begin at noon at the historic Warren County Courthouse grounds on East Main Street. U.S. Marine Corps Lt./Col. Robert MacDougall will officiate. A cadet contingent from Randolph-Macon Academy will provide uniformed support there.

Editor’s Note: The VFW Post 1860 will hold a ceremony on Monday, May 29th, at the Panorama Memorial Gardens on Strasburg Road starting at 10:00 am.