The annual Veterans Day ceremony at Oak Dale Cemetery in Urbana will commence at 10:45 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 11., at the gazebo on Soldiers Mound.
Co-sponsored by American Legion Post 120, AMVETS Post 121, DAV Chapter 31, VFW Post 5451, and all local veterans auxiliaries, this year’s ceremony will feature guest speaker Lt. Col. William Bundy, a graduate and former faculty member of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
The American Legion firing squad will provide a 21-gun salute, and members of the Urbana High School Marching Band will perform the national anthem and other patriotic songs.
In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held inside BrownRidge Hall, located at the DAV/VFW joint headquarters at 220 E. Court St., Urbana.
Additional events scheduled to honor local veterans are as follows:
•The Champaign Family YMCA in Urbana is hosting a veterans appreciation pancake brunch from 10:30 a.m. to noon today. The event is open to the entire community.
•On Saturday, Nov. 12, the Urbana Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution will honor local veterans by hosting an event at BrownRidge Hall that begins with a social hour at 9 a.m. followed by a program at 10 a.m.
Guest speaker will be retired Lt. Col. Paul Kari.
Local school districts are giving thanks to local servicemen and servicewomen this Veterans Day by hosting the following events:
•Graham Local Schools is hosting a Veterans Day program today at Graham Middle School. All veterans are invited to breakfast beginning at 7 a.m. in the middle school commons.
Following breakfast, veterans and students will gather in the auditeria at 8 a.m. for a program featuring the following guest speakers, all of whom served their country: Phil Marshall (Vietnam), Don Flowers (Afghanistan) and Ron Millington (Vietnam).
At 7 p.m. today, Graham Elementary will host a Veterans Day music program.
•At Triad, the National Honor Society is hosting a free pancake breakfast at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 11, for all veterans. At 9 a.m., the Triad elementary and high school choirs will each perform during a program that will feature the rededication of a plaque in memory of Walter Burroughs, a former Triad student who was killed in the Vietnam War.
“The Triad senior class of 1966 dedicated this plaque in 1966 in memory of their classmate, and since this is the 50th anniversary of the graduation of that class, we felt if fitting to rededicate this plaque in the new high school,” said Triad High School Principal Kyle Huffman. “Members of the Burroughs family will be on hand for this event.”
•In Mechanicsburg, Dohron Wilson Elementary School is allowing students to invite veterans to share lunch with them on Friday, Nov. 11. Students in grades kindergarten through second will eat from 12:30 to 1 p.m., while grades third through fifth will eat from 1 to 1:30 p.m.
Following lunch, students will perform a program for veterans from 1:45 to 2:45 p.m. in the main gymnasium.
•Urbana City Schools honored the military on Wednesday by allowing students throughout the district to invite current members of the military and veterans to join them for a complimentary luncheon at their respective schools.
•Due to the ongoing building project at West Liberty-Salem Local Schools, the district won’t be holding a Veterans Day program this year.
