Memorial Day 2021 events around the Sauk Valley

Memorial Day events throughout the Sauk Valley, all on Monday unless otherwise noted, include:

• Amboy: Ceremony at 10 a.m. at Veterans Park, West Main and Division streets.

• Dixon: American Legion Post 12 will have a wreath-laying ceremony at 9 a.m. at the Riverfront on South Hennepin Avenue. The Marine Corps League will fire a salute to those who perished at sea, and taps will be played. Veterans groups will assemble at 10 a.m. at Oakwood Cemetery, 416 Dement Ave., where Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Eden Lathrop will speak, General Logan’s Order will be read, the salute will be fired and taps played. Then the veterans groups will proceed to Chapel Hill Cemetery, 1121 Galena Ave., where VFW Post 540 members will conduct their traditional Memorial Day ceremony. In an “abundance of caution,” this year there will be no open houses at either the VFW Post Hall or the American Legion Post Hall. World War II re-enactors from the 506 Tank Destroyer group of Peoria will have artifact collections on display from noon to 4 p.m. at the Dixon Veterans Memorial Park.

• Erie: Annual Memorial Day Parade starts at 10 a.m. at the post office, 802 Main St., with Grand Marshall Paul Huizenga. After the parade, American Legion Denton Schreiner Post 582 will hold a ceremony in the cemetery where former Erie resident and combat veteran William Martin of the 502nd Infantry 101st Airborne Division “Screaming Eagles” will speak. Free Revitalize Erie picnic afterward until 2 p.m. at Heritage Park, 421 Highland Ave., serving hot dogs, chips, water, and freezer pops, plus hula hoops, jump ropes, flying discs and hopscotch for the kids. If it rains, there will be a drive-by lunch pick-up at Heritage Park, with the ceremony at Erie High School.

• Fulton: The Spoken 4 quartet performs at 6 p.m. on the outdoor stage at Spring Valley Reformed Church, 10960 Spring Valley Road. Hot dogs, chips and a drink will be sold; donations will be accepted. Call Randy Venema, 815-499-8843, for more information.

• Lyndon: Prophetstown American Legion Post 522 will host a service at 9 a.m. at Lyndon Cemetery on Crosby Road. The service will include readings by local Scouts. If it rains, the Prophetstown and Lyndon services will be combined at 10 a.m. at the PLT 6-12 campus.

• Morrison: A parade steps off at 10:30 a.m. on Knox Street. Line up at 10 a.m. on East Knox Street (next to Sullivan’s parking lot). A consistent rain will cancel the parade. Veterans are welcome to ride the hayrack. A ceremony begins at 11 a.m. at the veterans memorial at Grove Hill Cemetery, 400 E. High St., with guest speaker Chief Jerry Brearton, United States Navy, retired, and an invocation and benediction by the Rev. James Brezinski, pastor of St. Ann Episcopal Church. In case of rain, the ceremony will move inside Morrison United Methodist Church, 200 W. Lincolnway.

• New Bedford: New Bedford Royal Neighbors of America will host a Memorial Day Service at 2 p.m. June 6 at Greenville/Fairfield Union Cemetery on Backbone Road. The chapter’s deceased members will be honored, and there will be a Memorial Day address, music, Pledge of Allegiance, Gettysburg Address, and taps.

• Oregon: Combined American Legion and VFW ceremonies with wreath placement at the Soldiers Monument on South Fourth Street, followed by a ceremony at Riverside Cemetery, 868 N. state Route 2, with Mayor Ken Williams, a guest speaker, Boy Scouts, and the Oregon High School Band.

• Prophetstown: The service starts with a short parade at 10 a.m. at Third and Washington streets that ends at Eclipse Square Veterans Memorial Park. Capt. Esther Joy King, Army Reserves, will speak, and Scouts will have readings and place flowers. If it rains, the Prophetstown and Lyndon services will be combined at 10 a.m. at the PLT 6-12 campus.

• Rochelle: Roberts Armory WWII museum, 2090 Brush Grove Road, will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. The Higgins Boat will be open for viewing, weather permitting. World War II artifacts will be on display, including tanks, trucks, cannons and Rochelle News-Leader newspapers from 1945, presenting photographs of Rochelle residents who served during World War II. Museum vehicles also will be in the Memorial Day parade from 10 a.m. to noon downtown. A ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. at Lawnridge Cemetery on Eighth Avenue.

• Rock Falls: Rock Falls Post 902 and Sterling Post 296 ceremony at 9 a.m. at Lower Dam Park. Those attending can bring flowers or wreaths to decorate the river while taps is played, followed by a memorial service at 11 a.m. at Coloma Township Cemetery, 403 Haskell Ave. Snacks and refreshments will be served after at the Post, 712 Fourth Ave.

• Sterling: American Legion Post 296, 11 a.m. at Grandon Civic Center, 212 E. Fourth St. Illinois National Guard First Sgt. Kyle Hacker, operations noncommissioned officer for the Illinois Security Force Assistance Brigade in Rock Island, and formerly with the 1644th Transportation Company Rock Falls, will speak. Inclement weather will move the event to Centennial Auditorium, 9 E. Miller Road.

• Tampico: American Legion Post 574 will perform two services starting at 10 a.m. at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery on Benton Street, with a prayer by Post 574 Legion Auxiliary President Linda Taets. Post Cmdr. John E. Taets will call the Color Guard to attention and the rifle squad will fire a volley to honor deceased veterans, followed by taps. Deacon Bill Lemmer of St. Mary Church will read the names of the veterans buried in the cemetery. The second ceremony will be at Memorial Cemetery, 400 N. Main St., where the services will be performed again. Deceased veterans’ names will be read by Leanne Keate, pastor of Tampico First United Methodist Church and Ethan Horton, pastor of Tampico Baptist Church, and Joan Johnson will read the names of veterans buried at Yorktown Cemetery. In case of rain, services will be in the Tampico Area Community Building, 106 W. Market St.