A variety of events are scheduled throughout the state in remembrance for this Memorial Day. In Atlantic, services at the Atlantic Cemetery begin at 10-a.m., but volunteers were scheduled to begin placing flags in the cemetery at sunrise.

Elsewhere in Cass County, the Grant United Methodist Church will hold its annual Memorial Day Dinner from 11:30 am -1 pm  for your free-will offering. Join the Lewis Town & Country Boosters and the Pancake Man at the Lewis Community Center. Serving of pancakes and sausages with juice and coffee for a free will donation, is from 7:30 – 10:30 am. The Exira Lions Club will be serving breakfast of pancakes, sausage, eggs and biscuits and gravy for free will offering from 7 am to 1 pm. Also from 11 am to 1 pm they will be serving Rueben sandwiches for $6.00 each. This will be at the Lions Community Center in Exira. The Griswold American Legion Post #508’s Memorial Day Program will be held at 9 am in the Griswold High School Auditorium. The speaker will be Robert Hoogaveen. And, the Exira American Legion Memorial Day Service will begin at 9:45am with a band. Invocation by Pastor Duane Ferguson and address by Retired Brigadier General John S. Peppers.

Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs executive director, Robert King, says the official state events begin at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery near Van Meter. He says there will be a service there on at 8 a-m on Memorial Day with Brigadier General Jennifer Walter, Chief of Staff of the Iowa Air National Guard as the guest speaker. There is then a ceremony at the Veterans Memorial downtown at 11 a-m with Kevin Heer the Vice-Commander 132nd Fighter Wing will be the speaker. The Iowa Goldstar Museum at Camp Dodge also has special events happening on Monday.

“They serve S-O-S (stuff on a shingle) breakfast to those who show up for it,” King says. He says there will be a flyover by a World War Two airplane, and King says it’s a great opportunity for families to see the museum. The ceremony at the Oakwood Cemetery in Pella will have a special performance. “A large portion of that is being done by Civil War reenactors from the honor guard of the Department of the Iowa 49th Veteran Volunteer Infantry. It’s a reenactment group that does a really, really fine job,” King says. Another event is scheduled for north-east Iowa.

King says there’s an event at 10 o’clock at the Rose Hill Cemetery and all Vietnam veterans will receive a pin in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. Fredericksburg’s four remaining World War II veterans will also be honored.

(Radio Iowa)