By Rick Dandes
SUNBURY -- Parades and services are planned this holiday weekend in communities throughout the Valley to mark Memorial Day.
For men like Roger Martz, commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Sunbury, Memorial Day is one of the most important national holidays.
Martz, a Korean War veteran, said, "This is the day where we who have served remember our fallen comrades."
It's also a day for all Americans, he said, to acknowledge the heroic deeds of military personnel through the years.
A list of activities follows:
Saturday
n CELEBRATION/Sunbury
A Memorial Day celebration with Britt Small, the musical voice of American veterans, will be held at American Legion Post 201, 611 Market St. Doors open at 7 p.m. with the show beginning at 9. Cost of tickets is $8 in advance and $10 at the door. They are available by calling 286-0431.
Sunday
n COLOR GUARD CEREMONY/Lewisburg
A color guard ceremony begins at 6 p.m. in St. Peter's United Church of Christ Cemetery, 1880 Churches Road. A church service will follow at 6:30.
n PARADE/Mazeppa
The parade and service begin at 6 p.m. The speaker will be the Rev. Ricky Phillips. There will be an ice cream social in the community hall following the service sponsored by the Mazeppa Boy Scouts. If it rains, the service will be held in Mazeppa Union Church.
n service/Riverside
The 44th annual Riverside-Rush Township Memorial Day service will be held at the war monument in the Riverside Park, next to the municipal building at Montour and Dewart streets. The service will begin at 11:15 a.m. with a concert by the Danville Community Band. The speaker will be Justin Noll, plant manager at Cherokee Pharmaceuticals. Noll served five years in the Navy as electronic warfare officer on the USS Blandy and then as an assistant operations officer for Destroyer Squadron 26.
Monday
n MEMORIAL DAY EVENTS/Danville
Memorial Day activities in the Montour County area will begin with a ceremony on the Danville-Riverside bridge at 10 a.m. The parade will form at 9:30 a.m. near Sovereign Bank on Mill Street. Following the bridge ceremony, the parade will move along Mill Street to Bloom Street to Memorial Park, where another ceremony will be held. Guest speaker will be Dr. Peter Seidenberg, an Air Force Medical Corps major and co-founder and president of King Medical Care Inc., Bloomsburg. He has served oversees and been awarded the Global War on Terrorism Air Expeditionary Medal. Harold Beck, a World War II lieutenant colonel who flew 76 missions with P-47 fighters in the European Theater, also will attend. Clayton Temple, commander of Danville American Legion Post 40, will serve as master of ceremonies. Music will be provided by the Danville High School band.
n PARADE/Lewisburg
American Legion Post 182 will hold the annual Memorial Day parade. It will form at 10 a.m. at Cole's Hardware and move off at 10:30, going west on Market Street to South Seventh Street and ending at the Lewisburg Cemetery. Chaplain Robert Stackhouse will provide the invocation followed by comments from Paul Earnest, Post 182 commander. Guest speaker will be Phillip Frederick, Union County Veteran Affairs director. At the end of the program, participants will go to the post home for luncheon and fellowship.
n memorial day activities/Middleburg
A Memorial Day parade will begin at 5:30 p.m., moving on to Main Street from Midd-West High School and proceeding to Glendale Cemetery. A program with keynote speaker Clay Henry will begin at 6:15. If it rains, a memorial service will be held at 6 in Emmanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, 100 S. Main St. Information is available at 743-7210.
n MEMORIAL DAY ACTIVITIES/New Columbia
The New Columbia Civic Association will sponsor the annual Memorial Day activities, which will include a parade scheduled to begin at the White Deer Township Fire Company and proceed through the village of New Columbia. The parade will end at the Highlands Cemetery, where a brief ceremony will be conducted to honor the sacrifice of those who died in our nation's service. The parade will form at 10:30 a.m. and move off at 11. Information is available by calling 568-1804.
n MEMORIAL DAY ACTIVITIES/Northumberland
American Legion Post 44 will hold a Memorial Day parade, forming at 9:30 a.m. at the King Street Park at the Second Street end, going north to Orange Street, turning onto Seventh Street and going to Riverview Cemetery. The parade moves at 10. A service with Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew Minnier, of the 3rd Battalion, 103rd Regiment, National Guard, as speaker begins at 11. An open canteen will follow the service in Post 44.
n MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONIES/Selinsgrove
Memorial Day ceremonies in Selinsgrove, sponsored jointly by American Legion Post 25 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6631, will be held at 9 a.m. on the steps of the Selinsgrove Borough Building, next to the Veterans Memorial at High and Pine streets. Guest speaker will be Daniel W. Dreese, of Oakland Mills. Dreese served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War from 1970-79. The bands of the Selinsgrove area schools will participate in the program along with Boy and Girl Scouts and the Dauntless Hook & Ladder Fire Company and Ambulance League. If it rains, the program will be held at 9 a.m. in the VFW, Route 522.
n PARADE & SERVICE/Sunbury
Northumberland County Commissioner Chairman Frank Sawicki, a Vietnam veteran, will be the speaker at Sunbury's 141st annual Memorial Day service. The event begins at 9 a.m. in the Sunbury Cemetery, Fourth and Spruce streets. The parade will form at 8 a.m. at South 10th Street and Raspberry Avenue. It will move at 8:30, going north on 10th street to Market Street, west on Market Street to Fourth Street and south on Fourth Street to the cemetery, The Sunbury City Band will participate.
n MAY 25/SERVICE/Troxelville
A community Memorial Day service begins at 11 a.m. in the Troxelville Union Cemetery. The Rev. A.J. Shearer will be the speaker. Members of the color guard will decorate graves. A wind ensemble will play a tribute of patriotic music. People are asked to take lawn chairs. If it rains, the service will be held in Grace Reformed Church. Information is available at 658-7658.
