Area communities schedule annual Memorial Day events

Local communities plan to honor Memorial Day with ceremonies. Events begin Friday in Fort Recovery.

A list of events follows.
Coldwater

Memorial Day observances in Coldwater will begin Monday with a 7:15 a.m. Mass at Holy Trinity Catholic Church. Memorial Day services will follow at 10 a.m. at Coldwater Memorial Park under the direction of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5135 members. Maurice Cron will serve as master of ceremonies with the colors being presented by members of VFW Post 5135 and American Legion Post 470. The invocation will be given by the Rev. Richard Walling, pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church. The benediction will be given by the Rev. Allan Braun of Coldwater United Methodist Church.

The Coldwater High School Band will perform the National Anthem as well as a patriotic medley. Mayor Joseph Knapschaefer will give the Memorial Day address. World War II veterans will be recognized by Leroy Heyne, Ray Wenning, Elmer Eyink, Willard Speck, James Bonifas and Andrew Hemmelgarn.

Memorial wreaths will be placed by VFW post past commander Elmer Eyink, Legion post commander Lavern Stammen, VFW Auxiliary president Linda Knoll, Legion auxiliary president Shirley May and Sons of the American Legion Commander Mike Gilmore. A military salute will honor departed comrades by the VFW post honor guard with sergeant-at-arms Charles Koesters. Taps will be played by Adam Stahl with echo by Anna Ruckman.
Celina

Memorial Day services on Monday will be held along Lake Shore Drive with an assembly at 10:45 a.m.and services at 11 a.m.

Mercer County Veterans Service Officer Tom Risch will speak and the Rev. Douglas Meyer will give an invocation and benediction. Music will be provided by the Celina High School Band. The speaker will be American Legion District 2 incoming commander Tom Leininger. Color guards from American Legion Post 210 and its ladies auxiliary and VFW Post 5713 and its auxiliaries will take part. Participants are invited to the VFW at 7 a.m. for juice, coffee and rolls. Lunch will be served after the services at the Celina VFW for participants and their families.

Memorial Day will also be observed at Mercer Memory Gardens on Monday. The group will assemble at 10 a.m. The speaker will be from the Mercer County Board of Commissioners; VFW chaplain John Schmidt will offer a prayer. Area auxiliaries will place wreaths and a firing squad will salute the dead. "Taps" will be played.
Rockford

Rockford will celebrate Memorial Day on Monday with a parade, a special speaker and a chicken dinner.

The Memorial Day Parade will begin at 11 a.m. and end at the Rockford American Legion. The speaker will be Harrison Frech. The American Legion will host a chicken dinner. Tickets are presale only and may be purchased at the Legion hall and Barry's Market.  
Fort Recovery

A Memorial Day observance and parade will proceed from the bridge on Wayne Street to Monument Park on Friday at 7 p.m. At Monument Park, a service will be held with guest speaker Guy Gruters, a POW for five years and three months at the Hoa' Lo' Prison, commonly known as the Hanoi Hilton.
St. Henry and Burkettsville

The St. Henry American Legion Post 648, ladies auxiliary and St. Henry Cluster will observe Memorial Day with a 9 a.m. Mass on Monday at St. Bernard's Catholic Church in Burkettsville. The St. Henry American Legion, auxiliary, Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts will attend. After Mass, a memorial service will be held in St. Bernard's Cemetery. The legion members, auxiliary and St. Henry High School Band will then hold another memorial service at St. Henry Cemetery, where Legion members will honor Senior Airman Donald Heitkamp, a St. Henry native, who was killed at the age of 23 in an Air Force helicopter crash east of Sturgis, South Dakota, on May 29, 1986.
Minster

VFW Post 6432 and American Legion Post 387 of Minster will hold Memorial Day services at 10 a.m. Sunday at St. Augustine Catholic Church. Veterans are asked to arrive at the church vestibule by 9:45 a.m.

At 11 a.m. Monday a service will honor the deceased veterans at St. Augustine. Guest speaker will be Fred Grimm, a Vietnam veteran and a graduate of Minster High School. A 21-gun salute will follow the service. The public is invited. A dinner at noon will follow for all veterans, their wives and the widows of deceased veterans.
Mendon

Memorial Day services will begin at 8:30 a.m. Monday with units assembling at the park before marching to the river. The invocation will be given by the Rev. Jake Boroff of the Mendon Church of God. Flowers will be cast onto the river followed by a gun volley for the dead and "Taps" will be played by the Parkway High School band.

The speaker will be Alvie Louth, member of the Christmas Tree Festival committee. Wreaths will be laid by the VFW and American Legion auxiliaries. The group will reassemble and march to the park. Also participating will be color guards from American Legion Post 210, VFW Post 5713, DAV Chapter 76, Vietnam Veterans of America chapter 783, all of Celina. Also scheduled to take part are Girl Scout Troop 438, Girl Scout Troop 20663, Girl Scout Troop 20573 and Boy Scout Troop 98.
St. Marys

The St. Marys American Legion Post 323 will host a parade at 9:30 a.m. Monday starting at the library parking lot, along Spring and Wayne streets and Greenville Road and ending at the Elmgrove Cemetery.

After the parade, a service will begin at 10 a.m. Mayor Patrick McGowan will give the welcome address. Kadin Brackman will give a speech and the Rev. Rick Sheer will be the guest speaker.