Each year on Memorial Day, Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C., becomes the stage for the National Memorial Day Parade—the largest Memorial Day event in the United States. Designed as a moving timeline of American history, the parade features historical reenactors, military veterans, active-duty service members, military bands, and numerous civic organizations. It attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators and is broadcast nationwide, including to U.S. military personnel via the Armed Forces Network.
Among the historic participants this year were members of the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment—the Rough Riders—who represented the Spanish-American War era in the parade’s timeline. Led by President and Commander Lt. Col. Greg Eckley, the Rough Riders traveled from Tampa to the nation’s capital for the Memorial Day weekend events.
The group began their commemorative activities Friday morning with a visit to Arlington National Cemetery. Together with their families, they toured several significant sites, including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where they witnessed the solemn changing of the guard ceremony. Following the ceremony, they visited the Tomb Guard Museum and met with soldiers of the Tomb Guard unit during their preparation for the next rotation.
Lt. Col. Eckley then led the group to two important memorials—the Spanish-American War Monument and the Rough Rider Monument—where they paid tribute to those who served and died in the 1898 conflict.
On Sunday, the Rough Riders honored the memory of each of the 22 Rough Riders buried in Arlington. Yellow roses, symbolizing the Cavalry, and small regimental flags were placed at each grave, including those of three Medal of Honor recipients—one of whom earned the distinction during the Spanish-American War in Cuba. Honors were rendered at each gravesite in a gesture of enduring remembrance.
The Tampa-based Rough Riders organization, founded in 1978, was named in honor of the original 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry led by Theodore Roosevelt during the Spanish-American War. Today, the nonprofit is widely known for civic engagement, parade participation, and community service projects—including their signature “Teddy Bear Runs,” which bring comfort to hospitalized children, survivors of abuse, cancer patients, and foster youth. Fittingly, the teddy bear itself was named after Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States.
For more information about the Tampa Rough Riders, visit www.tamparoughriders.org.
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