Several local activities are slated for the Memorial Day weekend. Here’s a rundown of parades and observances.
American Legion Post 120, AMVETS Post 121, DAV Chapter 31 and VFW Post 5451 will co-host a Memorial Day ceremony in Urbana on Monday, May 30, at Oak Dale Cemetery.
The event will begin at 10:45 a.m. at Soldiers Mound, and the guest speaker will be Judith Henson, regent of the Urbana Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
The Urbana Champaign County Senior Center’s Guys and Dolls, under the direction of Jacque Howell, will perform the national anthem and other patriotic songs, and weather permitting, Jim White will provide a flyover.
The American Legion Honor Guard will provide a 21-gun salute and play “Taps.”
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The Terre Haute parade starts at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 29, with floats, local youth groups, antique cars and tractors and the Graham High School Marching Band. Memorial services will follow in the cemetery. The speaker this year is Champaign County Prosecutor Kevin Talebi.
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North Lewisburg will hold a Memorial Day parade starting at 10:30 a.m. The parade will include local veterans.
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St. Paris Memorial Day events will start at 9 a.m. May 30 at Harmon Park. A short service will be held there. A foot parade will proceed to the cemetery, where there will be a speaker.
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The Christiansburg Fire Company will hold the 35th annual Memorial Day Parade and Services on Monday, May 30. Services will be held at Smith Cemetery at the east edge of the village following the 11:30 a.m. parade. The speaker at the services will be military veteran and Piqua Assistant Chief Vincent Ashcraft. Line-up for the parade will be at 11 a.m. at the village park.
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American Legion Post 426 has planned a West Liberty Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony for Monday, May 30. The 2 p.m. parade will start at the old high school and end at Town Hall. A ceremony will follow with the high school band, a 21-gun salute, “Taps” and a benediction provided by Pastor Lee Ortman.
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American Legion Post 238 of Mechanicsburg will conduct a Memorial Day service in Woodstock at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 30 at Woodstock Cemetery. The Triad High School band will provide the music.
Post 238 has also planned a Memorial Day parade and ceremony for the village of Mechanicsburg. The parade will begin at 1 p.m. on Monday, May 30 at Heritage Cooperative. Following the parade at approximately 1:30 p.m., a service will be held at Soldiers Mound in Maple Grove Cemetery. The Mechanicsburg High School Marching Band is scheduled to perform.
Urbana United Methodist Church to honor veterans, active duty Sunday
The Urbana United Methodist Church invites military veterans, active military personnel and their families to a Memorial Day worship service at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 29, at the Gloria Theatre, 216 S. Main St., Urbana.
All are invited to the service, which will honor those who served and those who are serving the country. Three guest speakers will present their unique perspectives on the meaning of Memorial Day. The color guard of the Joint Headquarters of DAV Chapter 31 and VFW Post 5451 in Urbana will present the colors to open the service.
The guest speakers will be:
·Larry Dagger, retired educator and coach for Urbana and West Liberty schools. A 1968 graduate of Urbana High School, he will speak from his experience of losing a loved one during war. When Dagger was a high school senior, his brother, Corporal Carl Richard Dagger of the U.S. Marine Corps, was killed in action in Vietnam.
·Jesse C. “Jay” Brewer, commander of American Legion Pearce-Kerns Post 120 in Urbana. He retired as sergeant first class in the U.S. Army, serving from 1967 to 1987. Speaking on the meaning of Memorial Day as a Vietnam veteran, he served from 1968 to 1969 during the Tet Offensive. He was assigned to the 62nd Engineering Battalion and the 34th Engineering Battalion.
·Sgt. Jason Head, a 2003 graduate of Urbana High School and son of Dr. and Mrs. Robert Head.
He will speak on the meaning of Memorial Day to today’s young soldiers. Many of his relatives are veterans, including his grandfather and mentor, retired Master Sgt. James Cooper Jr. Head has spent much of his active duty career training 11,000 troops for combat in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. He was in Iraq with the 1/107th Cavalry.
