Thomas Conner: Memorial Day after COVID – here are the things that endure on this solemn weekend

Memorial Day is the one day, or weekend, set aside each year as a time for solemn remembrance of those who have given their lives in America’s wars.

Measures spawned of the COVID pandemic greatly restricted the outward observance of Memorial Day last year. Even this year, the ceremonies at our overseas cemeteries will once again be closed to the public. Not since the forces of Hitler’s Germany occupied American cemeteries in France and Belgium during the 1940s has this hallowed national ritual been so disrupted at those sites.   Closer to home, as authorities at all levels progressively relax COVID prohibitions, our countrymen can expect something of a return to normalcy with Memorial Day activities. Traditional parades, community observances, even family picnics will pick up where they left off two years ago in many places. And, if the forecasts of prominent economic observers prove true, there will be a veritable boom in holiday weekend travel compared to last year.