Cumming honors fallen service members with Memorial Day ceremony

At the Cumming City Center, the Veterans War Memorial and the Avenue of Flags turned Memorial Day into more than a single morning of speeches. The city’s annual ceremony brought residents to the Lou Sobh Amphitheater for a tribute built around retired Army Colonel Tom McDonald, a dove release and the grounds where Forsyth County’s service members are remembered throughout the year.

The ceremony was held May 22 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Cumming City Center Lou Sobh Amphitheater. The city advertised the event as rain or shine, with free admission, free parking and seating available on the amphitheater seat wall or personal lawn chairs. McDonald delivered the keynote address, and the program also included a dove release, a visual reminder that Memorial Day in Cumming was meant to be reflective as well as ceremonial.

The memorial setting gave the observance its local weight. City records say the Veterans War Memorial was relocated and updated in 2023 at the Cumming City Center, around the reflecting pool behind the amphitheater. The site includes plaques honoring Forsyth County chapters of Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and Vietnam Veterans of America, along with descriptions of major conflicts from the Civil War through today. The memorial grounds also host the city’s annual Memorial Day ceremonies and the Avenue of Flags display.

That Avenue of Flags has its own history in Cumming. The city says it was created in 1995 and originally consisted of 130 flags representing 154 veterans. Cumming also hosted The Moving Wall in 1998, linking the city’s present-day observance to a longer pattern of public remembrance that has been part of local civic life for decades.

The county added its own layer of recognition last week when the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners proclaimed May 25, 2026, as Memorial Day during its May 21 meeting. American Legion Post 307 Director Kevin Opela received the proclamation, and the county said the U.S. and Georgia flags at government facilities would fly at half-staff until noon on Memorial Day, by executive order of Gov. Brian Kemp.

McDonald’s appearance carried added symbolism for the city. In a January council record, Cumming officials said Mayor Troy Brumbalow presented him with a Key to the City, describing him as a 90-year-old retired Army colonel, a 1957 West Point graduate and a 1967 master’s degree recipient in systems engineering from the University of Arizona. His presence, paired with the Veterans War Memorial and the Avenue of Flags, kept the focus in Cumming on names, service and the places where Forsyth County makes sure neither is forgotten.