MEMORIAL DAY | Events schedule

Memorial Day events as submitted to The Vindicator. Unless otherwise noted, all events are Monday, the official holiday.

MAHONING COUNTY

Boardman: The Boardman Kiwanis will host its 112th annual Memorial Day parade and service starting at Boardman Center Middle School at 10 a.m. Thomas Petzinger is the grand marshal and featured speaker. William Wainio will give the invocation. Lt. Col. Bill Moss, USAF Ret., will lead the Pledge of Allegiance and place a wreath in honor of deceased veterans. Mark Luke of the Boardman Kiwanis will serve as master of ceremonies, and the Boardman Spartan Marching Band will provide the music. Parade participants will include township government and school officials, Scouting groups, Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions, Boardman Civic Association, Antique, Classic and Model T car clubs and ambulance companies, who will pass out candy to children. In the event of rain, the service will take place in the Center Middle School auditorium off Market Street. Immediately after the parade, Boardman Park will host a program in its Maag Theatre to honor veterans.

Canfield: A 95th annual Memorial Day service will begin at 10 a.m. at the gazebo on the Canfield Village Green. Featured speaker for the ceremony will be Maj. Patrick “Rick” Williams, retired, coordinator of the Office of Veterans Affairs at Youngstown State University. Participants will then travel to Canfield East Cemetery, where a second brief ceremony will honor deceased Canfield veterans, and then return to the Canfield War Vets Museum, where a final ceremony will honor Gerhard Reitmann and Martin Reitmann, whose names have been added to the Wall of Honor. Guests are urged to take a nonperishable food item to be collected and donated to area veterans in need by the Zion Lutheran Church Veterans Food Bank. Drop-off points will be located near the gazebo and in front of township hall at 21 S. Broad St., and on the east side of the green. Unusable American flags also can be dropped off at the collection box on the porch of the War Vets Museum throughout the year for proper disposal.

Campbell: American Legion Post 560 of Campbell will host a 10:30 a.m. ceremony at the Campbell Memorial High School monument. Keynote speaker will be D.A.V. commander William Pacak.

Ellsworth: A Memorial Day observance is today at VFW Post 9571, 11369 Ellsworth Road. Keynote speaker is Army Staff Sgt. Robert Sines. Parade will follow to the cemetery on U.S. Route 224, where military honors will be rendered. William Kennedy is parade marshal.

Lowellville: Hosted by American Legion Post 247 and will include a 10 a.m. service at Holy Rosary Cemetery. Keynote speaker will be Lou Mamula. A ceremony in Poland Township Cemetery in Lowellville will follow, as well as a brief ceremony at city hall followed by a light lunch.

New Middletown: The village will host its annual Memorial Day parade with lineup at 9 a.m. in the old elementary school parking lot, and the parade will begin at 9:30. It will travel south on state Route 170 and end at Springfield Local High School. The ceremony will occur in the stadium of the high school, where the veterans memorial and memorial bricks have been relocated. There will be no sirens during this somber parade.

North Jackson: Events begin at the Vietnam Memorial at the Jackson-Milton football field at 8:45 a.m. John Factor is parade marshal. The parade begins at 9 a.m., leaving from the football field parking lot and proceeding to the township cemetery, and will include the Jackson-Milton Marching Band, Scouting units, local fire departments and civic organizations. Veterans and family members of those currently serving are encouraged to wear something signifying their branch of service. To participate in the parade, contact Jack Acri at 330-770-2786 or email jacri@neo.rr.com.

Poland: The 44th annual Memorial Day parade and memorial ceremonies, starting at 9 a.m., will be sponsored by Sons of The American Legion Mahoning Valley Squadron 15, American Legion Mahoning Valley Post 15 and American Legion Auxiliary Mahoning Valley Unit 15. A ceremony honoring “The Four Chaplains” will begin at 9 a.m. at the post home, 35 Cortland St. A parade will begin at 10 a.m. and travel down College Street, right on South Main Street, left on Riverside Drive and into the Riverside Cemetery. A brief ceremony will take place about 10:15 on the Main Street bridge in honor of those lost at sea with full memorial services in Riverside Cemetery planned for 10:30. Bob Pluchinsky and Frank Bochenek will be special guests and Col. Brian Kennedy, USMC Ret., will be keynote speaker. Joe Mazur will serve as parade grand marshal. Pastor Reid Lamport of the Church of the Rock is chaplain of the day. In case of inclement weather, ceremonies will take place in the Poland Middle School gymnasium.

Struthers: The Struthers Fallen Soldiers Project will be dedicating three monuments in remembrance of Struthers soldiers at 10 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial at the high school, on the corner of Euclid Avenue and Morrison Street. Family and friends are invited to attend of behalf of their fallen solider. The list of soldiers from Struthers who died in World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam and peacetime operations is available at struthersfallensoldiers.com.

Struthers: Other events Monday: 8 a.m., U.S. Marine Corps will honor Marines at Beirut Memorial at Hamilton Lake; 9 a.m., VFW Post 7538 will honor Navy seamen at Mahoning River, below Bridge Street bridge; 10 a.m., Post 3538 will honor Army and Army Air Forces, Struthers Fallen Soldiers Project memorial dedication. Michael A. Shepherd, chaplain, Tri-State Marine Corps League Detachment 494; U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th; state Rep. John Boccieri of Poland, D-59th; and Anthony Traficanti, Mahoning County commissioner, will speak at Veterans Memorial at Struthers High School; noon, AMVETS Post 44 will honor all branches of military service at Lake Park Cemetery, Military Circle. For information, call 330-755-3750.

Youngstown: The Golden Eagles of Smoky Hollow annual War Memorial service will begin at 11:15 a.m. at Walnut Street and Rayen Avenue. Former state Sen. Harry Meshel will be speaker.

Youngstown: VFW Donald Lockett Post 6488 and Auxiliary will sponsor a program at 1 p.m. at the post home, 2065 Coitsville-Hubbard Road. Guest speaker will be Minister Allen Irizarry-Graves. All widows of deceased VFW Post 6488 comrades will be honored. A special presentation will be given to Chaplain Earl McElway.

Youngstown: American Legion George Washington Carver Post 504 and Women’s Auxiliary will host a Memorial Day program at 5 p.m., and a dinner will follow at 2225 Glenwood Ave. Members with more than 20 years of service will be honored. They are Terell Jones, Ted Ratcliff and Mark Young. Sgt. 1st Class Terell Jones will be guest speaker.

TRUMBULL COUNTY

Girard: Services begin at 11 a.m. at Girard City Cemetery. The Rev. Rhonda Gallagher of Trinity Lutheran Church of Girard will give invocation and benediction. Boy Scout Troop 40 will raise the flag with the national anthem played by the Girard High School Band. High-school valedictorians Gabriella Cario and Kada Williams will recite the Gettysburg Address. Short biographies of deceased veterans will be given by GHS class presidents for 12th grade, Jacob Ryser; 11th, Nicholas Hall; 10th, Sarah Ryser; and ninth, Gianna Battaglia. There will be a placing of the wreath with a rifle salute by Girard Veterans Council Honor Guard, in addition to taps and the playing of Amazing Grace by bagpiper Leslie Klol.

Niles: Services begin at 11 a.m. at the Niles City Cemetery, and the American Legion William McKinley Post 106 will conduct the ceremony. Guest speaker will be Mike Wilson, who will give a portrayal of President William McKinley, and recreate the president’s Antietam Address from Memorial Day 1900.

Southington: The Southington American Legion Post 751 will sponsor a parade from the Chalker building on state Route 305 to Pinecrest Cemetery. A memorial service will take place at the cemetery. Organizations and individuals interested in participating should gather at the Chalker building at 10 a.m. The flag-raising begins at 10:45 a.m., with the parade to begin at 11 a.m. For information, call 330-889-2113.

Warren: The W.D. Packard Concert Band will host a Memorial Day remembrance concert at 3 p.m. today at Packard Music Hall, 1703 Mahoning Ave. NW. The free event will feature the band with conductor Dr. Stephen L. Gage. The concert is a musical tribute to honor the men and women of the armed forces.

COLUMBIANA COUNTY

Columbiana: American Legion Post 290 will host its annual parade at 10 a.m., marching from Main Street to West Park Avenue to Firestone Cemetery.

Columbiana: Columbiana Fire Department will host its seventh annual Memorial Day all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon at Paul’s Caf , 36 S. Main St. Cost is $7 per person or free for children age 5 and under.

East Palestine: A Memorial Day parade sponsored by the George F. McBane Post 31 of the American Legion will begin at 11 a.m.

Leetonia/Washingtonville: On Memorial Day, a “Toast at the Post” to honor deceased veterans is set for 9 a.m. at VFW Post 5532, 575 S. County Road, Washingtonville. A parade will begin at 10 a.m. at the A1 Processing parking lot, 325 W. Main St., Washingtonville, and will proceed to the Veterans Memorial at the post. The Leetonia High School band, under the direction of Randy Rodik, will participate. Local youth and civic organization are invited to join the parade. Parade marshal is Daniel DiPanfilo, a 93-year-old WWII veteran, who served with the 446 Bomber Group, 8th AAF, in England as a radar technician. Keynote speaker will be Mark Drewnoski, a Leetonia native and a six-year Navy veteran who served during the Iranian hostage crisis and received the Expeditionary Ribbon. Drewnoski is a past Post 5532, Columbiana County Council, and District 6 VFW commander, has served as the Ohio VFW Voice of Democracy chairman, and works as the office manager/patient advocate at the Youngstown Veterans Outpatient Clinic. After the service, a wreath-laying ceremony will be at Oakdale Cemetery in Leetonia at the gravesite on Medal of Honor recipient Ralph E. Dias. Activities are sponsored by York Drexler Post 5532, VFW Washingtonville and Joe Williams Post 131, and American Legion, Leetonia. Luncheons will be served at both locations after the program.

LAWRENCE COUNTY

Pulaski, Pa.: The Village of Pulaski will observe Memorial Day at noon today at the Pulaski honor roll on the corner of Route 208 and Grell Street. Featured speaker will be master Sgt. Ray Zimmerman, USAF, retired. A new bronze plaque will be unveiled; 41 names were added to the 175 names that was on a previous plaque that was placed in 1981. The added names are of men and women from the Pulaski area that served in a military branch between WWI and the Iraq war.

MERCER COUNTY

Mercer, Pa: The Mercer Memorial Day 500 will take place primarily at the Mercer County Courthouse, 120 S. Diamond St. Events include: 8 a.m., registration at the post office for a 5K Race through the Flags starting at 8:30; 9 a.m., an opening ceremony, honoring of race winners and honoree introductions at the courthouse bandstand; 9 to 11 a.m., military expo, north side of courthouse; 9:30 to 11 a.m., veterans’ reception and prizes, south side of courthouse; concessions available 9:30 to noon; 10 to 11 a.m., showcase entertainer Brett Allen Morgan at the courthouse bandstand; 11 a.m., memorial parade; noon, memorial salute at the Mercer Citizens Cemetery, three blocks south of the courthouse. Food, drinks, parking and restrooms will be available. Golf carts will be available to assist those with mobility issues. Visit www.mercermemorialday500.org for information and program maps.