Fallen military men and women will be remembered at Memorial Day programs in Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Sequim and Forks this weekend.
Port Angeles
• A Memorial Day service will be at 9:30 a.m. in Port Angeles on Monday.
The service will be at Mount Angeles Memorial Park, 45 S. Monroe Road.
The service, hosted by VFW Post 1024 and its ladies auxiliary, will begin at the Veterans Circle.
The program will follow at 10:30 a.m. at the Veterans Center, 261 S. Francis St. It will be hosted by Disabled American Veterans Chapter 9.
“We will gather together to talk about what Memorial Day really means,” said Karen Key, who is coordinating the event for the DAV.
Coffee and dessert will be available.
For more information, phone 360-417-2630 or 360-681-7085.
• The Lower Elwha Klallam tribe will also hold a service at 10:30 a.m. at the tribe’s casino, said Juan Macias, who is helping to coordinate the event for the American Legion.
“After the ceremony, we’ll go to the tribal cemetery to pay tribute to the those who passed on, and then we’ll come back to the tribal center,” Macias said.
“The whole event is our way of taking our hats off to the tribal veterans.”
Later in the evening, the American Legion will gather at the Port Angeles Veterans Center, 61 S. Francis St., to give veterans information on benefits.
“We just want to let them know what the Legion is and also to pass out information on their rights and benefits as a veteran,” Macias said.
Port Townsend
• Port Townsend Mayor Michelle Sandoval will be the guest speaker during a Memorial Day program presented by the American Legion Marvin G. Shields Memorial Post 26 on Monday.
The program will be held at the American Legion Hall, at Water and Monroe streets.
At 10 a.m., the Port Townsend American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Elks Lodge members will gather at Fort Worden Cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony.
From there, they will move to St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery on San Juan Avenue at 10:30 a.m. and the Laurel Grove Cemetery on Discovery Road at 11 a.m.
At 11:30 a.m., bands will begin to play at the American Legion Hall, 209 Monroe St.
At noon, a ceremony will begin, featuring a tribute to veterans, and Sandoval’s address.
At 1 p.m., the ceremony will move to the dock behind Pope Marine Park where a ceremonial wreath will be tossed into the Port Townsend Bay along with a prayer ceremony.
Sequim
• On Saturday, a Veterans Rally in Sequim will raise money for veterans while offering entertainment to the general public.
Admission will be by donation to the rally from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Sequim Elks Lodge, 143 Port Williams Road, said Susan Strand, a veteran who organized the rally to benefit the Lloyd Strand Veterans Relief Fund, which assists veterans’ families.
Free hot dogs and soda, a raffle, silent and live auctions, bake sale, clowns and live entertainment.
The top three essay winners from Sequim Middle School will read their essays on “What a Veteran Means to Me.”
Music will be provided by Haywire.
Winning the contest for sixth-graders at the school were Emma LaBlanc, first; Amanda Campbell, second; and Dani Barrow, third.
The Sequim Veterans of Foreign Wars oversees the Lloyd Strand Veterans Relief Fund.
All proceeds from the rally will go to help needy veterans and their families, Strand said.
• On Monday, a service is planned at Sequim View Cemetery 1505 Sequim-Dungeness Way.
The Sequim VFW and the American Legion are hosting the program, said Jennifer Melberg, manager of Sequim Valley Chapel.
It will be a short service in honor of all military men and woman who have lost their lives, she said.
A bagpiper will perform before and after the service.
Forks
FORKS — A Memorial Day program will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The program, organized by the Forks Veteran of Foreign Wars Post No. 916 and the Forks Elks Lodge No. 2524, will be at the Elks Lodge.
It will feature a guest speaker and music by the Forks Community Orchestra.
Food drive
Both Mount Angeles Memorial Park, 45 S. Monroe Road in Port Angeles, and Sequim View Cemetery, 1505 Sequim-Dungeness Way, will collect food during Memorial Day weekend, Saturday through Monday.
The food will be given to the Port Angeles and Sequim food banks.
The hours at both cemeteries are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, phone 360-452-6255.
