Latest news with #DixonVFWPost540
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Where to find Memorial Day ceremonies, parades in the Sauk Valley
May 23—With a number of ceremonies, parades and speakers planned throughout the Sauk Valley on Memorial Day, here is a list of what local communities will be doing to remember the fallen. Dixon A Memorial Day service will begin at 9 a.m. Monday, May 26, at the Dixon riverfront. It will be followed by a 10 a.m. parade to Oakwood Cemetery, 416 S. Dement Ave. The parade starts on the riverfront and goes up Peoria Avenue to Second Street then turns left onto Second Street and goes east to Dement Avenue, then turns left onto Dement Avenue and proceeds to Oakwood Cemetery for a service. After the service at Oakwood, Dixon Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 540 will conduct memorial services at Chapel Hill Cemetery, 1121 N. Galena Ave. Lunch will be served afterward at Dixon American Legion Post 12, 1120 W. First St., and Dixon VFW Post 540, 1560 Route 38. Everyone is invited to attend. Sterling Sterling American Legion Post 296 invites the public to a Memorial Day ceremony to salute veterans who have died. The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. Monday, May 26, at the Grandon Civic Center in Sterling. Guest speaker scheduled for the ceremony will be Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ikaika Tautua, serving with the U.S. Army Sustainment Command at the Rock Island Arsenal. Inclement weather will move the ceremony to the Sterling High School Centennial Auditorium. Rock Falls Rock Falls American Legion Post 902 will host a ceremony at 9 a.m. Monday, May 26, at Rock Falls Lower Dam Park, Rock Falls. There will be a gun salute to honor fallen soldiers. A ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. at Coloma Township Cemetery, 908 Avalon St. The Rev. Dalmus Meeks will be the keynote speaker. A lunch will be served at the American Legion Hall, 712 Fourth Ave. Oregon Oregon VFW Post 8739 has announced this schedule of events: * 9 a.m.: Place wreaths at the historic Ogle County Courthouse * 10 a.m.: Service begins at Riverside Cemetery in the 200 block of North Third Street. Scouts will raise the flag and place flowers on graves. The speaker will be retired CMS Robert Coulter, who will be followed by a rifle salute and "taps" * 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: The VFW at 1310 W. Washington St. will be the site of a bounce house, games for kids, food trucks, local vendors, 50/50 raffle, and silent auction and bake sale. Lightning Bingo will be offered at 5:30 p.m. Polo Polo's Memorial Day Parade will be at 9:30 a.m. Veterans will meet at 9 a.m. in the parking lot behind the Lamplight at 124 E. Mason St. The parade will begin at 9:30 a.m. The parade will head west down Mason Street then north on state Route 26 to Fairmount Cemetery for a ceremony. Fulton Volunteers are needed to honor deceased veterans in Fulton by placing flags at their graves at 1 p.m. Friday, May 23, at the South cemetery. Fulton American Legion Post 402 will provide the flags and markers. On Memorial Day, May 26, the American Legion will conduct a solemn ceremony at noon in Fulton's Veterans Memorial Park located on Route 84 and 10th Avenue next to Fulton Dental Associates. For information, call post commander Bill Blecha at 815-589-3805. Morrison Morrison's annual parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 26, march through the downtown, and then head up the hill to Grove Hill Cemetery, 400 E. High St. A remembrance ceremony will begin at the cemetery after the parade's conclusion. Prophetstown and Lyndon Prophetstown American Legion Post 522 will host Memorial Day services in Lyndon and Prophetstown on Monday, May 26. The Lyndon service will start at 9 a.m. at the Lyndon Cemetery. The Prophetstown service will start at 10 a.m. A short parade will start at Third and Washington streets and end at the Eclipse Square Veterans Memorial Park, followed by the ceremony. In the event of inclement weather, only one service will be at 10 a.m. at Prophetstown Middle School. Mendota The Mendota Memorial Day program will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 26, at Restland Cemetery Memorial Gardens, Mendota. The Veterans Memorial Council, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4079 and Auxiliary and American Legion Post 540 will participate. The opening address will be delivered by master of ceremonies Bill Hunt. Invocation and benediction will be by Jay Miller. Guest speaker will be Jeff Simonton, chief operating officer at Black Brothers.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Dixon VFW to hold homecoming celebration, parade honoring Vietnam veterans
Apr. 8—DIXON — Dixon VFW Post 540 is planning a celebration and parade to give Vietnam War veterans the welcome home they never received 50 years ago. The event starts at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 26, with a ride-along homecoming parade behind Culver's of Dixon, 1317 N. Galena Ave. The parade will proceed south on Galena Avenue to the Dixon VFW Post 540 at 1560 Illinois Route 38, where Vietnam veterans and their partners will be treated to a special celebration and lunch. "Make banners, make posters, bring your American flag, and come out along the parade route and welcome these guys home since they never got a welcome home in the first place." — Tom Bushman, Vietnam veterans parade master of ceremonies VFW 540 Service Officer and Past Commander Tom Bushman will serve as the event's master of ceremonies. Bushman was a staff sergeant in the Army and is the Lee County Honor Flight chairman. He encourages the public to come out and show their support. "Make banners, make posters, bring your American flag, and come out along the parade route and welcome these guys home since they never got a welcome home in the first place," Bushman said. The Vietnam War started Nov. 1, 1955, and ended April 30, 1975, with the fall of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. The war drafted 1.8 million men ages 18 and older and provoked widespread protests across the United States. Anti-war sentiment resulted in many Vietnam veterans returning home to cold and hostile treatment. "Their contributions to family, community, and country can never be forgotten or dismissed," Post 540 Commander Tony Kulavic said in a news release. "Their lifelong commitment to never allow the same treatment to be experienced by the young men and women who followed in their footsteps adds to the list of unpayable debts we owe them. Shake a hand, give a hug, and learn the story they lived. Honor them while the opportunity exists." For more information on the event or to inquire about joining the parade, contact Bushman at 815-288-7085.
