The House of Representatives celebrates Memorial Day with 21-gun salute
Speaker Chuck Kleckley and members of the Louisiana House of Representatives held a Memorial Day celebration today, with a military presentation in the House Chamber and 21-gun salute from the Capitol grounds.
This year's Memorial Day celebration was led by Representative Nick Lorusso, R-New Orleans. Lorusso, along with several other Veteran members, honored those lost in the line of duty with the reading of a poem and dedications that highlighted two soldiers from Louisiana who were killed in active duty this year.
Clerk of the House, Butch Speer, read dedications for the two fallen soldiers: Sergeant Michael J. Guillory of Pearl River, and Chief Warrant Officer Bryan James Henderson of Winnsboro. The ceremony ended with the posting of the colors by the 1/141st Artillery Battalion and the Color Guard of the Louisiana Army National Guard, wearing uniforms in the style of the 1800s.
After the brief ceremony in the House chamber, members moved to the front steps of the Capitol, and called out the names of the two soldiers in what the military described as the "final roll call."
The 75mm Howitzer Salute Battery of the LSU ROTC then fired its cannon 21 times in honor of all United States' fallen service members; the sound reverberating through the streets of downtown Baton Rouge. Afterward, two members of the Marine Corps band of New Orleans played Taps, one trumpet echoing the other.
This year, the Memorial Day holiday falls on Monday, May 27.