By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

(May 21, 2026) Ocean Pines will honor the nation’s fallen soldiers next week with a ceremony at the Worcester County Veterans Memorial.

A Memorial Day celebration is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on Monday at the Ocean Pines veterans park, with speeches from community leaders and area veterans, a traditional color guard presentation, and a wreath-laying ceremony. The event will recognize the deceased members of all arms of the American armed forces.

The site of next week’s festivities has been refreshed with updated landscaping and additions that will be unveiled for the first time at the event.

The work included upgrades to walkway landscaping, renovations to reinforce the structural integrity, improved seating areas, and updated commemorative plaques.

The space is home to a brick wall denoting the branches of the United States military with an American flag at the center, as well as plaques honoring local soldiers. The space is maintained and overseen by the Worcester County Veterans Memorial Foundation.

Additionally, the foundation installed a new marker to recognize the United States Space Force. The newest defense branch joined U.S. military operations in late 2019 and was created to protect infrastructure such as military satellites, global GPS networks, and missile warning systems.

“The goal with this refurbishment was to ensure that the memory of our fallen heroes is preserved with the dignity and respect they deserve,” reads an OPA-issued press release. “All residents, families, veterans and civic organizations are encouraged to attend the ceremony at 11 a.m. to stand together in gratitude for those who gave their lives for our freedom.”

The ceremony is free to attend. Those interested should arrive early to secure chair space.

Additionally, the memorial grounds’ yearly “Flags for Heroes” display was installed on May 13, as part of an OC/Berlin Rotary Club fundraiser and in collaboration with the veteran site’s foundation.

As part of the effort, hundreds of American flags are placed in the grass at the Worcester County Veterans Memorial. The postings will enhance the space’s patriotic ambiance in time for Memorial Day.

Margaret Mudron, a Rotary Club representative, said the fundraiser allows individual community members to sponsor a flag for $50 each to recognize someone who has had a positive impact, whether personally or more broadly.

“A hero can be a soldier, a mother, a doctor, or a school teacher,” Mudron said. “Anyone who is a hero in your life.”

She added that about 220 flags were purchased for this year’s campaign. The deadline to sponsor a flag was May 11, and proceeds will benefit the park’s educational outreach programs, the Rotary Club Scholarship Fund, and other community charities.