Sedona Area Veteran and Community Outreach and the city of Sedona will host their annual Memorial Day ceremony at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, May 26, at the Barbara Antonsen Memorial Pavilion at Posse Grounds Park at 525 Posse Ground Road.
“It’s a time to remember the … people who have given of themselves to make Memorial Day a possibility for us … who have sacrificed their futures so that we might have better futures ourselves,” Chaplain Lt. Col. George Ault, U.S. Army, retired, said. “I think we have a responsibility, as citizens of this country, to come out and celebrate Memorial Day [to] give thanks [in] a spirit of gratitude for everybody who has given themselves.”
The 2025 Memorial Day Ceremony will begin with an invocation from Ault, who will also lead the closing prayer. Col. Al Cornell, U.S. Army, retired, will deliver the welcome. Navy veteran and Sedona Fire District Chief Ed Mezulis will serve as the guest speaker.
The program will include flag folding by SAVCO and Sedona Police Department cadets, a flag presentation by Chief Warrant Officer Don Clarke, and music by Ron Wright and Red RockAppella. A moment of silence will then be held.
“This is a great honor for me,” Mezulis said. “It’s an important day to honor all of the freedoms we have and to remember all of those that didn’t come home defending those freedoms.”
During the ceremony, a flag will be presented to Clare Isquith, widow of retired U.S. Navy captain and prolific Sedona Red Rock News letter writer David Aba Isquith, who died on Dec. 5 at the age of 89.
“Following his uncle’s example, David Isquith graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1957,” the SAVCO event pamphlet stated. “He served aboard the USS Bremerton [CA-130] heavy cruiser, the destroyers USS Blue [DD-744] and USS Meredith [DD-890] and the USS Ashland, the Navy’s first dock landing ship. He later held various administrative posts in the Navy until 1986, retiring with the rank of captain. He then worked for a national defense contractor until retiring in 1996. Capt. Isquith served in leadership roles throughout his military career. After moving to Sedona in 2000, he joined his wife, Clare, at Global Adventures in Travel. He is survived by his wife, four children, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.”
SAVCO President Jack Ross said that parking is not an issue for the event “but it’s best people show up at least 15 minutes early because they have to walk across the street. We have road guards with the Sedona Rangers and SAVCO personnel conducting traffic, and the police are aware of it, so there’ll be plenty of people in the area to help folks cross, and park appropriately.”
Ross said that he was optimistic that the final pieces of equipment for the new flagpole at the pavilion that was installed in late April will arrive in time for the ceremony.
After the ceremony, the Sedona Elks Lodge will hold its annual barbeque lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with music from DJ Sound Events. For more information, call the Lodge at (928) 282-7571 or visit the Elks’ Facebook page.
