Monday is Memorial Day and the Kewanee Veterans Council is putting out their yearly call for volunteers to place flags at the gravesite of local veterans.
Jerry Thompson, finance officer for the KVC and the American Legion Post 31, said that thousands of flags need to be placed in eight area cemeteries, including several rural cemeteries. There will be 800 flags placed in Evergreen Memorial Gardens just outside Kewanee alone. Another 1500 to 1800 flags will be placed in Pleasant View Cemetery.
Volunteers are being asked to meet at the American Legion on Friday, May 24 at 8 a.m. to receive their marching orders. Rain is in the forecast early that morning, Thompson said, so the decision will be made at that time whether to go ahead and place the flags.
The placing of the flags has become a local tradition and has been carried out for years. The holiday and the flags serve as a reminder of the countless individuals who served and lost their lives for their country.
The KVC isn’t taking any chances on the weather this year. On Monday, May 27, the Memorial Day Service will be held at the American Legion, located at 1509 Railroad Ave., rather than Veterans Park.
The service will begin at 10 a.m. and the featured speaker this year will be Lou Guthrie, a 29-year Army veteran. Guthrie was one of several area veterans who took the one-day Honor Flight to Washington D.C. in April.
Also scheduled to speak will be Kewanee Mayor Gary Moore. Kewanee City Council members are also expected to attend. The music this year will be provided by the award-winning Kewanee High School band and the KHS choir.
The VFW Post 8078 Poppy Girl and Boy, Matingly Lewis Raley and Kam Autery, have been invited to attend. As in years past, Lou VanDeVoorde will open the service with a prayer.
