Saturday Noon ‘Dogs of War’ Wagner Animal Shelter Ceremony Kicks Off Multi-Faceted Memorial Day Weekend

For the third consecutive year, the Town of Front Royal will mark the three-day Memorial Day weekend with a plethora of activities designed to mark the service of those military men and women who gave their lives for their country during and since World War II, adding this year a “Salute to Service” at and around the Gazebo on Saturday afternoon.

A trifecta of events are planned beginning with, on Saturday at noon, at the Julia Wagner Animal Shelter on Progress Drive, the Humane Society of Warren County’s (HSWC) launch of the weekend activities with, for Front Royal, a unique event saluting not only our service men and women, but the dogs of war who helped them on the battlefield and are credited with saving thousands of lives of our military. Coincidentally, the first dogs of war sent into the Pacific theater following the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, came from a Front Royal-based military training facility.

That Saturday noon ceremony, expected to last about 45 minutes, will again feature the popular and talented Valley Chorale; an address by a U.S. Marine Corps dog handler, Christine George, now on the Randolph-Macon Academy staff, accompanied by an R-MA cadets’ honor guard; and the laying of a wreath honoring the war dogs and those local law enforcement K-9s that similarly protect our local citizens while going about their duties.

As the writer looks on former Executive Director of HSWC Meghan Bowers lays wreath at Dogs of War Wagner Shelter site ceremony. Below, a past K-9 law enforcement participant identified as Marley Ben relaxes prior to the start of service. That’s the Dogs of War Memorial Garden dog statue lurking behind Marley Ben.

Throughout Saturday afternoon at the Gazebo, from a 1 p.m. “hard opening” a “Salute to Service” gathering is planned with a variety of imported and local musical talent being featured, as well as veteran assistance informational booths. And on Monday, USMC Lt. Col. Rob MacDougall will again preside over the traditional Memorial Day ceremony at the county courthouse, at the East Main Street/Royal Avenue intersection, starting at noon. Not connected to the veterans’ salutes, but coinciding with the weekend activities will be Ellen Aders’ Farmer’s Market on Sunday afternoon in the vicinity of the Gazebo, an enterprise she re-established just a couple of weeks ago.

Prior to the dedication of the Wagner Shelter Dogs of War Memorial Garden three years ago, the ceremony took place in the Gazebo area of the Village Commons Park. This Memorial Day weekend Saturday the initial ‘Salute to Service’ event will take place with a ‘soft start’ at noon, and ‘hard start’ at 1 p.m. at the Gazebo. Below, the traditional Memorial Day Monday event on the historic Warren County Courthouse grounds will continue this year, beginning at noon under the stewardship of USMC Lt. Col. Rob MacDougall.

As the Royal Examiner camera records, members of the Valley Chorale opened and closed last year’s Dogs of War ceremony at the Wagner Animal Shelter. And they will be featured again this year.