Memorial Day parade steps off at 9:30 a.m. Monday for service at Oakwood Cemetery

The Memorial Day service in Bucyrus will begin with a parade forming at Washington Square at 9 a.m. The parade will step off at 9:30 a.m. and head toward Oakwood Cemetery where the program begins at 10 a.m. at the Lemert Memorial.

In the case of muddy surroundings the service will move to the columbarium located at the north east corner of the cemetery.

If it is raining the parade will be canceled and the program will be moved to Bucyrus Elementary School, 245 Woodlawn Ave.

Marshal and assistant marshals

The parade marshal will be a retired Lt. Col. Douglas Wilson. Wilson is a 1960 Bucyrus High School graduate. He enlisted in the Ohio National Guard in 1960. He was inducted into the Crawford County Veterans Hall of Fame in 2016.

Assistant parade marshals are current and honorably discharged veterans. Master of ceremonies will be Robert “Bob” Laipply Jr., who is an Army veteran honorably discharged from active duty in 1970 as sergeant E-5. He also is a retired teacher from the Bucyrus City School system.

The invocation and benediction will be offered by Pastor Jay Scott of the Emmanuel United Church of Christ of rural Upper Sandusky.

The speaker is retired Col. Keith Newell. He received a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from The Ohio State University in 1982.

In 1990-1991, Newell flew in Operation Desert Shield and flew combat sorties in Operation Desert Storm over Iraq from the United Arab Emirates. Newell participated in Operation Noble Eagle by flying combat air patrol over Chicago and the surrounding areas on 9/11 after the terrorist attacks.

Additional activities

The Bucyrus High School Marching Band will play the national anthem. BHS graduate Addison Young will recite the Gettysburg Address. Gen. John A. Logan's General Order No. 11, designating May 30 as the day to remember the nation’s war dead, will be read by Bucyrus High School graduate Sawyer Cooper.

The Bucyrus Middle School Marching Band will play "Battle Hymn of the Republic." The salute to the dead will be presented by the American Legion Post 181 honor guard, followed by the playing of taps and the echo.

Veterans are welcome to participate in the parade. Vehicle transportation will be available for those who need it.

American Legion Post 181, 123 E. Rensselaer St., will hold a hot dog roast 11 a.m.-1 p.m. The meal is free to honorably discharged and active duty veterans. Family and friends may join for a donation.

The Veterans Memorial Society is a group of honorably discharged veterans from all wars and peace time, according to a news release. Members meet three to four times a year to prepare for the Memorial Day services and place flags on graves of area veterans in observance of Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

For Memorial Day society members placed more than 3,500 flags on the graves of veterans in Bucyrus and surrounding township cemeteries, according to the press release, which notes flags flown on Memorial day should be at half-staff until noon, and full staff afterward.