Following tradition, the George W. Goetz American Legion Post 372 of Forestville will conduct Memorial Day observances Sunday at southern Door County cemeteries. Beginning at 7:20AM at the Forestville Town Hall and ending at the Old Catholic Cemetery at 12:10PM. After observances the group will assemble at the Forestville Town Hall at 12:15PM.
John Zimmerman, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, will be the keynote speaker at the Memorial Day observance in Sturgeon Bay at 10AM on Monday. Zimmerman is a retired Lieutenant Colonel and Military Intelligence Officer. Door County Veterans Service Officer Scott McFarlane says the observance will be held in the fire department facility near the Veterans Memorial at city hall. Zimmerman will be joined by Pastor Carl Schroeder of Saint Peters Lutheran Church who will act as chaplain and the rifle salute will be provided by VFW Post 3088. In addition, the Peninsula Symphonic Band will play patriotic music before and during the ceremony and American Legion Post 72 is in charge of the reception after the ceremony has concluded.
In Sister Bay, veterans posts from Sister Bay & Ellison Bay will hold two Memorial Day ceremonies Monday. At 8:30AM, the group will meet at Henderson Park at the corner of Highway 42 & Mill Road. All deceased veterans will be honored & a wreath will be placed at the memorial in the park. The next stop is Little Sister Cemetery. Beginning at 10:30AM, the national anthem & a medley of military songs will be played by the Gibraltar band, the choir from First Baptist Church will perform a selection of patriotic songs, the invocation led by Pastor Ed House of the Door of Life Christian Church, and a list of deceased veterans from the past year will be read. The ceremony also includes the recognition of veterans, a prayer, remarks by Colonel Julie Mangan Schaffer, USMC, a rifle salute, and the sounding of taps. 2018 marks the 72nd year that taps will be sounded by bugler Dale Seaquist. Regina McIntosh will close the service with the singing of God Bless America.
The Memorial Day observance on Washington Island features a ceremony at Bethel Church, Monday at 10:30AM. A march to the cemetery for the reading of the names of departed comrades is next. The program also includes bagpipes, a rifle squad, and a bugler sounding taps. The next stop is at Schoolhouse Beach where there will be a laying of a wreath in the water to recognize the sailors lost at sea.
In Kewaunee, veterans will assemble at the Post 29 American Legion building at the intersection of Lincoln & Juneau Streets at 9AM, and then proceed to Atrium Post Acute Care for a service at 9:45. From there, veterans will head the Kewaunee High School to assemble for the parade which begins at 10:15AM. The parade route heads north on 3rd Street to the Riverview Cemetery for a firing off of Miller Street in memory of, and to honor all deceased veterans in the cemetery. The parade will then proceed east on Miller Street, south on 2nd Street, and east on Vliet Street to the Holy Rosary Cemetery where a firing will be held in the center of the cemetery. The parade will then finish at the Kewaunee County Courthouse, where a special ceremony will begin at 11AM. In the event of inclement weather the ceremony will be held in the Kewaunee High School gymnasium at 11:15AM. Immediately following the ceremony, the public is invited for refreshments and lunch at the Kewaunee Legion Building at the intersection of Lincoln & Juneau Streets.
