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VALLEY — Plans have been finalized for this year’s Memorial Day program to be hosted by American Legion Post 67. It will be taking place at 11 a.m. EDT on Monday, May 29th in Veterans Memorial Park. Everyone is invited to attend. There’s a special invitation for local veterans to be there.

Chambers County Veterans Service Officer Yvonne Triplett will be the guest speaker. She will be talking about what her office does in assisting Chambers County veterans. Veteran service officers can help veterans in filing service-connected disability claims with the VA. They also assist veterans in obtaining benefits relate to vocational rehabilitation, VA home loans, education, insurance, burial benefits and non-service connected pension benefits.

Two brothers from the local area, Sherrill and Schirra Roberts, will be recognized in the program. Both served in the military. Sherrill graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York 30 years ago this year. Valley Mayor Leonard Riley has been invited to speak. Jerry Andrews will be recognized for the work he does in placing U.S. flags on the graves in Fairview Cemetery.

Since its inception in the post-World War II years, Post 67 has hosted Memorial Day programs in May and Veterans Day programs in November.

Memorial Day is a holiday that is widely seen as the start of the summer season in the U.S. with Labor Day being seen as its conclusion.

It’s a fun day but is more than just a day for a cookout and being off work. The monuments in Veterans Park remind us that many young men from this area gave their lives for our freedom and our way of life. Being in Veterans Park and taking part in a Memorial Day program is a way to show some appreciation and respect for what they did for both our nation and our local community. There are four separate monuments in the park, one for those who died in World War II, one for those who died in Korea, one for those who were killed in Vietnam and one for Brandon Hadaway, who died in the Iraq/Afghanistan wars.

Originally known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day is a federal holiday honoring and mourning U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the armed forces. From 1868 until 1970 it was observed every years on May 30th. It’s now observed on the final Monday in May.