Naperville to host annual Memorial Day tribute and parade

Judd Kendall Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3873, American Legion Post 43, and the Naperville Municipal Band will conduct their regular Memorial Day observance activities on Monday, May 29.

The day's events will begin at 7:45 a.m. with a memorial service behind city hall at the Commander Dan Shanower Memorial followed by additional memorial services at various military memorials around Naperville including the GAR Monument at Naperville Cemetery at 8:15 a.m.; Veterans Park, 100 E. Gartner Road, at 8:35 a.m.; Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery, 911 North Ave., at 9 a.m.; and Burlington Square, 307 N. Ellsworth St., at 9:25 a.m.

At 10:30 a.m., the annual Memorial Day Parade steps off at Jackson Avenue and West Street and heads east to Washington Street, then north to Benton Avenue.

A Memorial Day Observance Ceremony will be held at Central Park following the parade, beginning at approximately noon.

Members of the community are invited to join in the memorial services and watch the parade.

This Memorial Day, they are asking residents to take time to remember the significance of the day and to teach the youth that it is about more than barbecues, pool openings, and parades.

They also ask that you participate in the National Moment of Remembrance, by observing one minute of silence at 3 p.m. for the many military veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives in service to our country, including the 114 residents of Naperville that have died while on active duty.

The mission of the Memorial Day Parade is to pay tribute to those that have made the ultimate sacrifice. The parade's focus is on veterans and the remembrance of those who died while serving their country. This is not a parade for political entries, businesses or for-profit organizations, or individuals or organizations attempting to promote themselves.

For additional information, go to www.napervillememorialdayparade.org.