Orion area veteran groups are giving back to those who made the ultimate sacrifice this Memorial Day.
The American Legion and the Orion Veteran Memorial are hosting a whole day of events to honor all those who perished in wars, especially the 40 military personnel who gave their lives from the Civil War to the present.
On Sunday morning, the American Legion will be at several cemeteries placing tokens of appreciation at the graves of veterans.
On Monday, Memorial Day, at 9 a.m., things will get started with a ceremony held at Eastlawn Cemetery.
An hour later, at 10 a.m., wreaths will be cast into Paint Creek to commemorate those war dead who lost their lives at sea.
The parade starts at 11 a.m. It features the Lake Orion High School marching band, various veteran organizations and local boy and girl scout groups.
The parade begins at Blanche Sims Elementary School, runs down Flint, making a right at Broadway, where it continues down to the Angel Center, where it ends.
At 11:30 a.m., Warthog jets will fly-over south to north over M-24 and Broadway.
At 1 p.m., a ceremony will be held at the Orion Veterans Memorial, located on M-24 across from Jacobsen’s Flowers.
The new granite facade will be dedicated and 40 white crosses will be erected in honor of Orion’s hometown heroes who died while in service to their country.
It will be a wonderful day of singing and patriotism, according to Joe Mastromatteo, director of the memorial.
‘We hope and pray people remember the meaning of Memorial Day,? he said. ‘It’s for all those who have served and most of all those who paid the ultimate sacrifice so we may live in a land of freedom.?
The names of those who lost their lives from Orion are as follows:
Civil War
Thomas Bowers
Daniel Burton
Roswell Campbell
William A. Churchill
Henry C. Fairchilds
Hiram Hemmingway
Webster Adolphus Marsh
Parley Roger
Eugene L. Rose
Charles Soper
Frank Thornley
World War I
Otis C. Brewster
Newell Thomas Charlton
Verne E. Polan
World War II
LaVern H. Becker
J.V. Burns
Chester C. Campbell
Lee F. Carpenter
Clayton Albert Decker
Robert Leland Decker
Edwin R. Dewey
Roger H. Fiebelkorn
Bernard A. Kowalk
Erwin A. Kruse
Marvin F. Lamphier
Julian E. Moore
Charles J. Pettit
Everett Pickering
Anthony F. Sommer
Donald R. Sova
Allan B. Swem
Walter F. Walter
Korean War
James Crossman
Charles Dailey
Ernest C. Fiebelkorn
Edward Wilson Garlick
Harry Pacer
Vietnam War
Raymond L. Whelpley
John A. Wood
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Raymond J. Plouhar