CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA– With Memorial Day comes a number of different parades and events that help honor those who have sacrificed so much for our country.
Here is a list of the different events and parades in our area:
American Legion Post 272, Linglestown, will hold a parade and cemetery service at 1 p.m. in the Linglestown Fire Company parking lot. It willend at Koons Park. The guest speaker will be in the square. After the parade the post honor guard will lay a wreath at the Koons Park veterans memorial.
New Bloomfield Memorial Day Parade– Carson Long Military Academy cadets will participate in the annual New Bloomfield Memorial Day parade.
At 1 p.m., the academy will dedicate the Sgt. 1st Class William Stone Memorial mural at the Carson Long JROTC Department building.
Stone was an JROTC army instructor at Carson Long for 17 years. He had retired from the Army. Stone had initiated the creation of the mural with the art department but never saw it completed. He died in 2012. According to the school, “SFC Stone’s vision for the mural was to capture the espirit de corps at Carson Long, and in collaboration with students, decided to create a timeline of Carson Long and JROTC by representing Army uniforms worn throughout the 20th and early 21stcenturies. The uniforms represented on the mural were worn by Army soldiers in World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq, and Afghanistan.”
The Joint Veterans Council of Newville will hold a parade at 1 p.m. Services will follow the parade at the fountain at the Veterans Memorial. Speaker will be Col. Gary Sokoloski, U.S. Marine Corps. If the weather is bad the parade will be canceled and the service will be held at the VFW on West Main Street.
The Vietnam Veterans of Mechanicsburg will hold a memorial service at 2 p.m. in the Lincoln Colored Cemetery off Winding Hill Road. The service will be held rain or shine.
The National Cemetery at Gettysburg National Military Park will hold its 150th Memorial Day parade and ceremony beginning with the parade at 2 p.m. at Lefever Street. The parade will end at the Soldier’s National Cemetery where the ceremony will start at 3 p.m. Brigadier General Tony Carrelli, PA National Guard, will be the guest speaker.
Taps will be played each evening at 7 p.m. between Memorial Day and Labor Day in the National Cemetery, sponsored by the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, in partnership with Gettysburg National Military Park and Taps for Veterans.
“One Hundred Nights of Taps” will take place at the Soldiers’ National Monument within the cemetery – often believed to mark the location of President Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” in November 1863. Bugler and bugle historian Jari Villanueva has assembled a team of buglers for event. Among the buglers signed up to perform are military veterans, Civil War re-enactor buglers, community band members, high school and college students and music teachers. For more information or to sign up to perform, you can visit this site here.
Myerstown Memorial Day Parade- The Myerstown Memorial Day parade will begin at 10 a.m. at the Myerstown pool parking lot at 515 S. Railroad St. It will continue north on Railroad Street to Main Avenue, then west to the Myerstown VFW. A memorial service at the VFW will follow immediately after the parade, probably at about 11 a.m. The parade will begin forming at the pool at 9:30 a.m.
Hershey Memorial Day Parade- A parade will start at 10 a.m. at the Hershey Recreation Center and progress north on Cocoa Avenue, west on Elm Avenue, north on Ridge Avenue, east on Chocolate Avenue, and south on Cocoa Avenue back to the Recreation Center. An 11:30 a.m. ceremony at the Recreation Center will feature music, a keynote speaker, and a reading of youth essays.
Lebanon Memorial Day Parade-The annual parade will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the intersection of Eighth and Cumberland streets. It will continue east along Cumberland Street to Fourth Street, north to Lehman Street, and west back to Eighth Street. There will be a ceremony in Monument Park, N. Eighth and Lehman streets, after the parade.
Jonestown Memorial Day Parade- The Jonestown Memorial Day parade will begin at 9 a.m. at Tony’s on Market Street at 333 W. Market St. It will proceed east on Market Street to Zion Lutheran Cemetery, where a service will follow at about 9:30 a.m.
Carlisle Memorial Day-The Joint Veterans Council of Carlisle will hold the annual parade starting at 9 a.m. May 29 with services following at 9:45 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Courtyard. Guest speaker will be Col. Adam Roth (retired). If the weather is bad the parade is canceled and the ceremonies will be held in the old courthouse.
William Howard Day Cemetery Memorial Day-A special salute to area African-American Veterans and youth leaders will highlight memorial day activities at 12:15p.m. Monday May 29 at William Howard Day Cemetery at 800 Lincoln Street in Swatara Township.
Camp Hill’s Memorial Day parade, sponsored by American Legion Post 43, will begin at 9:30 a.m. May 29 at North 19th and Market streets and end at the firehall. The ceremony will start at 11 a.m. in Camp Hill cemetery. Festivities will be held in Willow Park after the parade and include children’s activities, food and information booths. Entertainment will be provided by the high school jazz band at 1 p.m. Speaker will be Lt. Col. Keith W. Littlewood, Pennsylvania Air National Guard. For more information, you can visit the Camp Hill borough’s website here.
Elizabethville Memorial Day-A Memorial Day Hometown Heroes ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. May 29 at the Memorial Wall outside American Legion Post 404, 7 S. Market St., Elizabethville. Included in the ceremony are local Boy and Girl Scouts, music and speakers.
Mechanicsburg Area Veterans Council will hold a Memorial Day parade at 10 a.m. May 29 followed by a ceremony at 11 a.m. in Mechanicsburg Cemetery at the GAR monument on Marble St. The parade marshal will be Officer Shutt and his K-9 Marc. Guest speaker will be patrol officer Justin Myers who serves in the U.S. Army Reserves. If the weather is bad the parade is canceled and the ceremony will be held at VFW Post 6704.
Monroe Township will hold its service at 10 a.m. May 29 at the flagpole in Mount Zion Cemetery. Col. Cindy Dwyer (retired) and Col. John Dwyer (retired) will speak on “The True Meaning of Memorial Day.” The event also includes the Cumberland Valley Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps color guard, Boy Scout Troop 333, Girl Scout Troop 12083 and music.
Mount Joy Memorial Service- At 10 a.m, a memorial service at Memorial Park, 101 Marietta Ave. A parade will start at Angle and Church streets at 2 p.m. and proceed down the length of Main Street to Barbara Street. Anyone interested in participating should contact the committee at mtjoyparade@aol.com.
The Hummelstown Memorial Day parade will start at 10 a.m. May 29 on West High Street and end with services at Hummelstown Cemetery. People can stop in the square at 9:30 a.m. to sign a thank-you card for troops serving abroad. Small American flags also will be available to line the parade route.
Silver Spring Twp. Veterans Memorial- The Silver Spring Township Veterans Memorial Committee will hold a ceremony at 11 a.m. May 29 at Willow Mill Park. Guest speaker is Michael Hanrahan, Department of Defense civilian, Army War College.
The Joint Veterans Council of Shippensburg will hold services at 10 a.m. May 29 beginning at Locust Grove Cemetery. Services at Spring Hill Cemetery will be at 11 a.m. and a flag-raising ceremony will be held at noon at Shippensburg Veterans Memorial Park. At 1:15 p.m. the Navy and Marine memorial service will be held at Branch Bridge on King Street. The parade will start at 2 p.m. at King and Prince streets.
One Rose for Every Headstone Memorial Day Ceremony– The sixth annual Memorial Day Flowers tribute to veterans will take place on Monday, May 29th . This program is sponsored locally by American Legion Post #34, the Lancaster Chapter of Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, and Flowers by Paulette. Begun seven years ago at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC, the program was extended to local florists to participate in 2012. Last year, nearly 1400 veteran’s graves were decorated at Lancaster and St. Mary’s Cemeteries, and nearly 250,000 nationally. Beginning at 11:30 AM on May 29th the following program will be presented at Lancaster Cemetery located at 205 E. Lemon Street. All those attending will help to decorate the graves in Lancaster Cemetery, St. Mary’s Cemetery and Steven Greenland Cemetery. Once again, bagpipers will be playing before the ceremony as people gather and after while the graves are being decorated. Decoration of the Graves — Rose Distribution by Volunteers Flags will be placed on every veteran’s grave prior to the ceremony by Amvets Post #19.
If there is a Memorial Day event or parade missing from this list that you would like added, please e-mail us at news@fox43.com to add your event.
