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ALTON - Riverbend residents can join the 21st annual Memorial Day Sunset Ceremony to pay tribute to service members who made the ultimate sacrifice.
At 6:30 p.m. on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, 2026, a group will gather at Alton National Cemetery for a ceremony featuring veteran speaker Joseph Boston, the Alton High School ROTC, a prayer led by Mayor David Goins, a gun salute by the Alton VFW, and patriotic music. The goal, explained organizer Bob Baird, is to honor fallen service members who have made Alton their final resting place.
“Memorial Day’s focus is, of course, on those who gave their lives in service to our country in the name of freedom. Certainly, there's no one entitled to honor and respect more than the ones who did that,” Baird said.
Baird’s father, Richard, was a Vietnam veteran who started the Sunset Ceremony as a way to honor those buried at the Alton National Cemetery. He also wanted to call attention to the cemetery’s overgrowth, prompting a response from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The 21-year tradition has led to more regular maintenance at the cemetery.
Since his father’s passing in 2025, Baird and his mother have continued to hold the ceremony. Baird believes it’s important to honor these fallen service members and show respect by keeping the cemetery maintained.
He explained that the Alton National Cemetery began as a cemetery for Union soldiers who contracted illnesses while guarding Alton’s Confederate prison during the Civil War. In the years following the Civil War, more Union soldiers were relocated and buried there.
The Alton Cemetery Association oversaw the cemetery for many years. When national cemeteries were created to honor service members, the Alton Cemetery Association offered the land to the federal government. Workers with the Works Progress Administration, an agency established through President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, built the cemetery’s rostrum.
Today, the cemetery is a closed national cemetery, with a little over 200 graves maintained by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Most of these soldiers served in the Civil War, though there are a few from World War I and II.
The Sunset Ceremony aims to honor these soldiers as well as other service members who lost their lives. The color guard and saber salute will be provided by the Alton High School ROTC, and Mayor David Goins will give the invocation and benediction. The Alton VFW will provide a gun salute and patriotic music.
Air Force veteran Joseph Boston will “reflect on Memorial Day and what it means to him as a veteran and an American and put it into perspective for all of us,” Baird said. Baird noted it was important to him and his mother to include all Alton residents. They are excited to welcome everyone from students to VFW members to the ceremony.
He encourages everyone to come out for a reflective evening. The ceremony lasts about 45 minutes and encourages attendees to remember what Memorial Day is truly about.
“What should happen is happening,” Baird added. “We’re providing recognition and memorial and honor to those who gave their lives, and doing so in a reverent way.”
Baird thanked Miller King for their sponsorship of the ceremony and advised people to reach out to him at rbaird@stambrosegodfrey.org with any questions.
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