Memorial Day parades, services set throughout the region

The Middletown Police Department Color Guard travels down Verity Parkway during a past Memorial Day parade. This year's parade, set to step off at 10 a.m. Monday, will travel from Smith Park to Woodside Cemetery where a memorial service will be held. FILE PHOTO  

NICHOLAS S. GRAHAM

The Middletown Police Department Color Guard travels down Verity Parkway during a past Memorial Day parade. This year's parade, set to step off at 10 a.m. Monday, will travel from Smith Park to Woodside Cemetery where a memorial service will be held. FILE PHOTO NICHOLAS S. GRAHAM

Communities throughout Butler and Warren counties have parades and memorial services scheduled for Memorial Day to pay respect for those who lost their lives.

Butler County

The Butler County Memorial Day Parade steps off at 10 a.m. Monday on South Monument and travels east on Court Street, then east on High Street, north on Seventh Street, and then east on Heaton Street to Greenwood Cemetery.

Ohio Air National Guard veteran Kevin Childress and his son, Marine Corps Capt. Brian Childress, an adjunct with the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group in Quantico, Va., will serve as co-parade marshals.

The Memorial Day ceremony is set for 11:15 a.m. at Greenwood Cemetery, 1602 Greenwood Ave.

Middletown

The Middletown Memorial Day Parade steps off at 10 a.m. Monday from Smith Park, heads down Verity Parkway and ends at Woodside Cemetery. Kenny Baldwin, a Vietnam veteran and AK Steel retiree, is the grand marshal.

The Memorial Day Service starts at 11:30 a.m. at the cemetery. Rep. Thomas Hall, R-Madison Twp., is the keynote speaker. Music will be performed by the Collegium Cincinnati Brass Quintet. Start Skydiving will perform an American flag jump.

Fairfield

The parade features veterans groups, military units, Fairfield High School Marching Band, community groups and organizations, Fairfield Police Department, and Fairfield Fire & EMS units.

The parade will start at 10 a.m. Monday Express Scripts and head south on Hicks Boulevard, right on Nilles Road, left on Bibury Road, right on Wessel Drive and ending at Fairfield Veterans Memorial Park.

The parade will conclude with a brief ceremony at 11 a.m.

West Chester Twp/

The Memorial Day Parade marches through the heart of the historic Olde West Chester business district beginning at 10 a.m. Monday, followed by a Memorial Day Ceremony at West Chester (Brookside) Cemetery.

Each Memorial Day, members of the Historical Society toll the bell for the more than 800 U.S. military veterans laid to rest in West Chester The Reading of the Names takes place at the cemetery before the ceremony and while the parade is in motion.

Michael L. Marquardt, a Vietnam veteran serving the U.S. Navy from 1966 to 1971, is the grand marshal

Harold Zimmer, a 21-year Army veteran, is the keynote speaker.

Franklin

The city of Franklin will host its traditional Memorial Day Parade at 10 a.m. Monday. The parade will begin along South Main Street, ending at Third and Main streets where a brief ceremony will conclude the events of the morning.

Springboro

The annual Memorial Day Parade steps off at 2 p.m. Monday on South Main Street.

After the parade, a brief ceremony is set for Wade Field, with complimentary refreshments and picnic fare following.

About the Author