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Cedar Valley to honor veterans with parades, salutes, speeches for Memorial Day

Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier - 5/26/2023

May 25—Memorial Day weekend observances are planned in the metro area.

"We need to honor all veterans, past and present. We have a long history and Memorial Day was set aside to honor our war dead," said Dave Grimm, adjutant treasurer of Disabled American Veterans Chapter 11, noting that the day should have a deeper meaning than a three-day weekend, day off from work, or a day to spend fishing or grilling.

On Saturday, Rolling Thunder Iowa Chapter 1 will host a POW/MIA awareness ceremony at 3:30 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Hall and Soldiers and Sailors Park, 1915 Courbat Court, in downtown Waterloo. A car show and fundraiser will precede the ceremony.

Presented by Midwest Grease Kings Car Club, the car show takes place from noon to 4 p.m. between Fourth and Fifth streets. The public can select the best car for $1 for each vote; donations will benefit Rolling Thunder Iowa Chapter 1 for POW/MIA awareness and local veteran's needs. The winner will be announced at the 3:30 p.m. program.

Volunteers spent Thursday placing flags on veterans' graves at Garden of Memories Cemetery, where 4,798 veterans are interned. Two shifts were required to place the flags. On Wednesday, volunteers are needed at the cemetery again to remove flags from the graves. To participate, email lentgerjames@gmail.com or yloveless@blackhawkcounty.iowa.gov, or call (319) 287-9463.

On Saturday, a Memorial Day service will take place at 10 a.m. at the German Burial Ground of Bennington Township, hosted by the Cedar Falls Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3896. A number of veterans are buried here, including the final resting place of Johann (John) Adams, a Civil War veteran with Company K 112th Illinois Infantry who died in 1903. There will be a color guard, a speech by retired Iowa National Guard Major Jerome Palas of Cedar Falls, a U.S. Army veteran, and the playing of taps.

On Monday, the annual Memorial Day Parade in downtown Waterloo will begin at 10 a.m., followed by an 11 a.m. ceremony at Veterans Memorial Hall.

Nearly 35 parade units, including marching bands from Waterloo'sEast High School and Gilbertville'sDon Bosco High School, are expected to participate. The parade route begins at Wells Fargo Bank, Fifth and Commercial streets. The route will travel down Commercial Street to Fourth Street, across the bridge and down to Mulberry Street, then back across the river on Fifth Street to Commercial Street.

The grand marshal will be retired District Court Judge George Stigler of Waterloo. He was a member of the Iowa National Guard for more than 38 years and reached the rank of colonel, served as the senior judge advocate general (JAG) officer for Iowa and was part of a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo from 2003 to 2004. Stigler also served six years on the Black Hawk County Veteran Affairs Commission.

Stigler became an associate judge in March 1978 and a district court judge in 1985. He retired in 2020 after 47 years, four months and four days on the bench.

Also featured at the parade will be retired U.S. Army Reserve Maj. Gen. Evan "Curly" Hultman and Kevin Dill, former Black Hawk County Veterans Affair director, as well as the "Ironman" battalion of the 133rd Infantry Regiment, ROTC and Junior ROTC, and veterans and representatives of AMVETS, Veterans of Foreign War, Disabled American Veterans, the American Legion and Black Hawk Veterans Affairs, as well as local churches and community groups.

The American Legion Becker Chapman Post 138 is in charge of organizing this year's parade.

"We are honoring those individuals who paid the ultimate sacrifice for us with their lives throughout history, all conflicts, all branches of service, peacetime or wartime. We need to honor what they've done for us and what they've given us in this country," explained Grimm, who is also operations chair for Veterans Memorial Hall and serves on the executive board for Honor Flights.

At 11 a.m., a ceremony will takes place at Veterans Memorial Hall in downtown Waterloo. Iowa Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Ron "Curly" Albrecht, a Waterloo native, will be the keynote speaker. Pastor Jason Stickles of Celebration First Assembly of God Church will lead prayers.

There will be a rifle salute, speeches and a reading of the list of "Honored Deaths," those veterans in the area who died in the last year, by Craig White. Steven Snider will play "Taps" on a Civil War-era bugle.

Beginning at 12:30 p.m., a Memorial Day ceremony will take place at the Evansdale AMVETS Post 31, 706 Colleen Ave.

Approximately 262 flags will be flying in Flag Park, representing veterans who have died, and 25 more flags along the street at Cedar Falls AMVETS Post 49, 1934 Irving St. A Memorial Day observance begins at 11 a.m., which will include music by members of the Cedar Falls Municipal Band. Members of the AMVETS Riders will present a motorcycle salute, and there will be a rifle salute and playing of "Taps."

In addition, the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with hands-on activities and the opportunity to take photos with World War I-era "doughboys," "soldiers" and other costumed staff. Free lunch, provided by Friendship Village, will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Veterans get free admission. Admission is $6 for children ages 4-13 and $12 for those 14 and older. As a Blue Star Museum, active duty service members and up to five of their family will also receive free admission through Labor Day.

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(c)2023 Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (Waterloo, Iowa)

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