MAHONING COUNTY

MAHONING COUNTY

Coitsville: Donald Lockett VFW Post 6488, 2065 Coitsville-Hubbard Road, will honor members of World War II’s Red Ball Express at ceremonies beginning at 11 a.m. Monday at the post home. The guest of honor is James D. Rookard of Cleveland, who was a driver for the Red Ball Express.

Struthers: The public is invited to a Veterans Day ceremony at the Struthers Veterans Memorial, 111 Euclid Ave., at 11 a.m. Monday. U.S. Rep. Timothy Ryan of Niles, D-17th, is the main speaker.

Youngstown: The United Veterans Council, which represents some 30 veterans organizations in the Mahoning Valley, is having its annual Veterans Day program at 11 a.m. todayat the Mahoning County Courthouse in downtown Youngstown. The guest speaker is Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brad Davidson. The program will include a POW remembrance by Ray Ornelas, senior vice commander of VFW Post 3538; the laying of wreaths at the courthouse and The Man on the Monument; a salute to fallen comrades by the Tri-State Marine Corps League, and taps by Joe Pavlov and Brad Gessner. Laura Minenok, a freshman at New Castle, Pa., High School, will sing the national anthem.

Youngstown: Sts. Peter & Paul Church, 421 Covington St., will celebrate a Veterans Day Mass honoring all veterans at 10 a.m.Sunday. A wreath-laying ceremony will be followed by refreshments. Among those attending will be John Bistrica, World War II veteran who was in the first infantry wave at Omaha Beach in Normandy. The main speaker is Youngstown Municipal Judge Robert Milich, who retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel. Judge Milich, who served four years on active duty and 24 years at the 910th Air Lift Wing at Youngstown Air Force Reserve Station in Vienna, will also present the Knight of Legion of Honor medal to Bistrica, who was awarded the medal by the Counsul General of France in Chicago on behalf of the French Republic and in recognition of his “valorous action during World War II.”

Youngstown: Dr. Herbert L. Armstrong and Anthony Feldes will be honored at the ninth annual Forgotten Heroes program at 2 p.m. todayat Oak Hill Cemetery, 344 Oak Hill Ave. Dr. Armstrong was a World War II Army veteran and a 1938 graduate of South High School. Feldes, inducted into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame in 2006, served 30 years in the Marine Corps.

TRUMBULL COUNTY

Girard: The Girard Veterans Council will have its Veterans Day program and parade today . The parade will form at the corner of Broadway and Market streets, and step off at 10:20 a.m. and proceed to the Girard Viaduct, where there will be a short service and a wreath will be tossed into the Mahoning River. The parade will then continue to the War Memorial in front of city hall, where Mayor James Melfi will speak at a brief ceremony. A wreath will be placed at the memorial and the Girard Veterans Council Honor Guard will fire a 21-gun salute. The council consists of American Legion Post 235, Army-Navy Garrison 422, and VFW Post 419.

Liberty: The Liberty Historical Society and Liberty Township will be honoring our veterans at 2 p.m. todayat the township building on state Route 304. The veterans will be telling their stories and the high school students will be videotaping it. Refreshments will be served. All veterans are welcome.

Niles: Veterans Day services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at the Niles City Cemetery, located at the intersection of Niles-Vienna Road and Vienna Avenue (state Route 46). Air Force Master Sgt. Bryan Ripple, of the 910th Airlift Wing, is the main speaker. The event is sponsored by American Legion William McKinley Post 106.

Warren: A Veterans Day ceremony and parade will be Monday at the Doughboy in Memorial Park on Mahoning Avenue downtown across from the courthouse. The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. with Jim Rapone, a Vietnam veteran, as guest speaker. The parade begins around 12:15 p.m.