Mercer 500 honors fallen heroes

MERCER, Pa. (WKBN) – One of the larger Memorial Day events in the Valley happened Monday in the center of Mercer.

This year is the 19th annual Mercer 500 Parade.

The morning was packed with events, leading up to the parade, which ended with a service at the Mercer Citizens Cemetery.

The 500 in the name represents the 500 flags that are placed along the streets in the borough Almost all of them were hung with dog tags that had names of those who served. The parade and the Jason Michaels Memorial 5K follow the flags on their route.

“People can buy the flags and memory or in honor of a loved one, so it’s really cool to walk through and see all the different names on the dog tag, so just a great Mercer tradition,” said event organizer Aaron Sines.

To kick off the event, local musician Chris Higbee performed Sunday night, starting earlier than scheduled to avoid bad weather.

The Mercer 500 brings hundreds to the borough each year.

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