By Kat Halfman
Staff Intern
BROWN COUNTY – Communities across the area are holding events this Memorial Day to honor those members of the military who paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving the country.
The roots of Memorial Day date back to Decoration Day, which started in the years after the Civil War when soldiers would place flowers on the graves of soldiers who died in the conflict.
It has been a national holiday since 1971.
Here’s a peek at some of the events being held this year in honor of the holiday:
• Celebrate De Pere sets aside the Memorial Day weekend to honor veterans with a variety of events.
This year’s event includes free admission for all veterans, a traveling Vietnam veteran exhibit on display at Voyageur Park all weekend and a ceremony held at 12:20 p.m. on Monday on the main stage, which involves VFW Post 2113.
• The 2022 De Pere Kiwanis Memorial Day Parade steps off at 10 a.m. May 30, from West De Pere High School.
The parade will travel across the Claude Allouez Bridge and end at Broadway and Cass Street.
• VFW Post 7534 in Duck Creek will host a ceremony at 8 a.m. May 30 at Memorial Park and another at 9 a.m. St. John’s Cemetery, before stepping off for the parade at 10 a.m.
A final ceremony will follow the parade at 11 a.m. in the Duck Creek cemetery.
• Fort Howard Memorial Park is hosting an event starting at 11 a.m., May 30, in the Field of Honor.
Guests are encouraged to bring a chair for the Remembrance Service and Program, which will feature guest speaker Mike Vizer.
The program concludes with a YETI cooler drawing.
• The Heritage Hill State Historical Park will honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice with a special event from 9-10 a.m this Memorial Day.
The free event will feature a pledge of allegiance, a speech by Jon Logan, Captain, USAR, 432 Civil Affairs Battalion, laying of a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and a musket volley by Heritage Hill’s own 5th Infantry Color Guard.
The event will wrap up with complimentary refreshments in the Education Center.
• The Green Bay Botanical Garden will have free admission for military personnel and veterans May 30.
• The Slammer Inn Again Bar in Greenleaf is hosting a Memorial Day fine line acoustic event from 2-6 p.m., along with a free cookout.
• On Friday the 27th, at the Outagamie Speedway in Seymour, WABAM Dirt King Tyler Nettekoven will race the #914 Dirt Street Stock from 6:30-10 p.m. in honor of Memorial Day.
• The Prince of Peace Catholic Community is hosting a Memorial Day Mass and service starting at 9 a.m. — all are welcome.
• New Life UMC will hold a special service to honor veterans and their families at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 29, at 721 Pleasant Way, Seymour.
A slide show of the community’s veterans, compiled by the Seymour Community Museum, will be shown followed by a Casket Flag folding ceremony.
Everyone is invited to attend and refreshments will be served.
• American Legion Krause-Kraft-Mueller Post 106 in Seymour will have a Memorial Day Parade at 9 a.m. down Main Street, followed by a program at the Veterans Memorial on Main Street.
• The American Legion Duhm-Masch Post 332 of Black Creek will host a Memorial Day Ceremony at 10 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial on Main Street in Black Creek. The event will take place rain or shine.
• Denmark’s American Legion Post 363 Johnson-Hershman Inc. will hold ceremonies at 14 cemeteries in the Denmark area between 8-11 a.m. Monday.
Check out the post’s Facebook page for specific times and locations.
At 11:30 a.m., the post will participate in a ceremony in Denmark Veterans War Memorial Park, on Wisconsin Street.
• American Legion Sullivan-Wallen Post 11 will hold a remembrance ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Monday at ADM Flatley Park, 116 Admiral Flatley Court in downtown Green Bay.
Volunteers have also been busy placing flags on the graves of veterans at Allouez Cemetery.
• Shiocton’s American Legion Post 512 will host a Memorial Day service at 10:30 a.m. at the Shiocton Veterans Memorial, located by Bamboo Bend just off Highway 54 west of the village.
A laying of the wreath ceremony and potluck luncheon at the River Rail will follow the service (Please bring a dish to pass).