For Memorial Day, CFAY had earlier requested Blue Ridge to provide a 21-gun salute at noon. This is the only gun salute that has a one-minute firing interval to honor the day. The next gun salute came on July 4 with 21 rounds fired at five-second intervals. Before the clock strikes 12 and the batteries strike the ammo, preparations and training come first. The batteries are first thoroughly cleaned and lubricated to make sure all working parts are functional.
GMs are then assigned positions on the mounts and practice timing drills with dummy rounds.
The loader is responsible for proper handling of the steel and black powder ammunition that is jammed in the battery at five-second intervals. Proper handling of the ammo and a sense of rhythm are important ingredients to a good loader. The gunner cycles the trigger bar as the round is loaded. The gunner has to trust the loader is doing his job correctly because the gunner has his eyes fixed on the timer who keeps the five-second intervals falling on his mark. We try to create the same scenario in practice as the day of the shoot.