Tomb of Unknown Soldier coming to Zelie in July
Zelienople’s July Fourth celebration will add a new asset for the second straight year as a traveling Tomb of the Unknown Soldier will be present during the first week of July.
Adel Fatur, who organized last year’s Patriotic Porch Tour, said she wanted to add more to the town’s Independence Day celebrations.
"Last year, we did the porch tour, and that was to get the community together again. It seemed like too many people were divided because of the elections and things like that,“ Fatur said. ”Everybody told me they loved the decorating for the Fourth of July last year, and they wanted to do it again, and I thought I'd just expand on it.“
Fatur heard about the traveling tomb replica in 2021, and began working almost immediately to bring it to Zelienople. The Georgia-based company bringing the tomb, Fatur said, is booking into 2023.
The tomb will come to Zelienople on July 1, according to Fatur, and she is working to coordinate a procession for the tomb with local law enforcement and other public servants. On July 2, there will be an opening ceremony, including a color guard procession, a 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, and a bagpiper playing “Amazing Grace.”
"We're asking people and organizations if they want to come present a wreath at the tomb,“ Fatur said. ”They can bring their own wreath and present it, as long as they let us know. If they come with a wreath, we'll stop for five to 10 minutes to let them place the wreath and then we'll play taps again."
Fatur said the guards who come with the traveling tomb will stand watch over the tomb from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and she’s looking for veterans or others to stand vigil for the other 12 hours, “maybe for an hour at a time.”
The tomb also will be present during Zelienople’s July Fourth parade. Fatur said she’s been in contact with a man who has a white, horse-drawn hearse that has a glass side and a 48-star flag. A second bagpiper will accompany the tomb during the parade.
Porch tour expands
Fatur also said the Patriotic Porch Tour, which was a contest in 2021 to see which houses and businesses were most patriotically decorated for July Fourth, will expand for the new year.
“We’re opening up to people in Harmony and surrounding areas,” Fatur said. “Our prize this year will be a helicopter ride for two over Zelienople.”
Even for those who don’t participate in the contest, she encourages everyone who is able to “come out and decorate” the town for Independence Day.
Fatur also seeks help for planting flags in Four Corners Park. Last year, she said, she managed to place 2,570 flags; in 2022, she will look to place 6,000 flags.
