Memorial Day tributes move online

The Memorial Day ceremony at Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery in Seattle was canceled this year because of COVID-19, but a few people still came to place flags on graves.

"We're here despite this pandemic to be out here to support all of our fallen soldiers," said Ashley Hennessey.

It was a similar scene at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent.

>>RELATED: Seattle’s largest cemetery not hosting 94th annual Memorial Day service due to COVID-19

In sunny weather, that ceremony can draw as many as two thousand people.

Cemetery director Thomas Yokes was surprised many people still visited on Monday, despite the cancellation.

"It's a steady stream of vehicles, lots of visitors, very touching to see all of these people coming out in this weather to pay their respects to the veterans," Yokes said.

Visitors seemed to be keeping safely apart.

To encourage social distancing, many ceremonies moved online.

“We don't have nearly as many participants just to keep the social distancing but we do have a live band," said Mark Gilmore of Mountain View Memorial Park in Lakewood, just before the annual ceremony started live on Zoom.

Many other organizations produced pre-recorded videos of ceremonies and posted them online.

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