An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
HomeMultimediaNewsArticle Display

Ceremonial Brass at the Lincoln Memorial

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Brandon Chaney
Washington, D.C. --  On Feb. 12, the Ceremonial Brass was part of a wreath laying ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial commemorating the 206th anniversary of former president Abraham Lincoln's birth. It was sponsored by the Lincoln Birthday National Commemorative Committee.

The earliest known observance of Lincoln's birthday occurred in Buffalo, New York in 1874. The date was celebrated in many states, but not until 1968 was Lincoln included in a Federal holiday--President's Day, which is primarily the remembrance of George Washington's birth. Wreath laying ceremonies take place annually at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville, Kentucky and at the Lincoln Memorial in the District of Columbia. The latter has been the site of the District's ceremony since the Memorial was dedicated in 1922.

Peter Dixon, president of the Lincoln Birthday National Commemorative Committee, was the master of ceremonies, and addresses were given by Muriel Bowser, the mayor of the District of Columbia, and Senator Elder Vogel, Jr. Johnnetta B. Cole, Director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art, read selections from Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address.

The Ceremonial Brass played pre-ceremony music and a majestic rendition of the National Anthem, and a solo bugler concluded the commemorative event by sounding taps.

On President's Day 1981, President Ronald Wilson Reagan stated, "In Lincoln's life there is ample testimony of the depth of his mind, to the compassion of his heart, to the breadth of his virtue, and above all, to the value of putting country above self-interest." As with Lincoln, service before self is a core value of every Airman in the U. S. Air Force, and the Ceremonial Brass is humbled to have played a part in honoring one of our great country's greatest presidents.