Variety of local events planned for Memorial Day

Patrons, veterans and law enforcement alike salute the American flag as a bugler sounds 'Taps' bugle May 29, 2017 during Memorial Day services at National Cemetery.
Patrons, veterans and law enforcement alike salute the American flag as a bugler sounds 'Taps' bugle May 29, 2017 during Memorial Day services at National Cemetery.

The Jefferson City Veterans Council on Monday will honor about 150 Mid-Missouri veterans who have died over the past year.

As part of its annual Memorial Day program - to be at 10:30 a.m. at Jefferson City National Cemetery, 1024 E. McCarty St. - the council will host a two-bell ceremony, President Don Hentges said.

"We'll be reading the names of deceased veterans who have died since Memorial Day last year," Hentges said.

Two bells will ring to honor each of the veterans who has died. Families of veterans who passed away over the past year and who wish to verify if program coordinators are aware of the family member may call Hentges at (573) 619-9880.

The keynote speaker for the event will be Terry Walker, Jefferson City High School's new football coach.

Every year, participants lay a wreath at the cemetery in honor of the people killed in the Centralia Massacre. This year, Jeremy Amick, who writes weekly articles for the News Tribune on behalf of Silver Star Families of America, will speak on the history of the monument erected to the massacre. Silver Star Families of America is a nonprofit organization that honors wounded and ill veterans.

The massacre occurred when Confederate guerrilla leader William T. Anderson and his men captured 24 Union soldiers on leave after the battle of Atlanta and heading for their homes in northern Missouri and southern Iowa, then executed them in Centralia on Sept. 27, 1864. Another 123 Union soldiers died during a subsequent battle.

The event, anticipated to last about an hour and a half, will include the Marine Corps League participating in a Memorial Firing and Taps.

"I encourage people to come out, take a little time out of your day, and pay respects to the people who fought and died for the country," Hentges said. "We want to pay reverence to the ones who passed away."

The Salute to Veterans Airshow at Columbia Regional Airport, 11300 S. Airport Drive, in Columbia is scheduled 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, it begins immediately after Columbia's Memorial Day Parade, which begins at 10 a.m. The airshow will feature the U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aerial demonstration team and parachute jump teams. A WWII de Havilland Vampire, the T-33 "Shooting Star" jet and a 100-year-old plane are expected to fly. Several aircraft will be available for tours. Parking and admission to the show are free.

Back to Jefferson City, the annual Memorial Day Mass begins at 10 a.m. In the mausoleum at Resurrection Cemetery, 3015 W. Truman Blvd., said Alan Lepper, the cemetery's general manager.

Traditionally, after Mass, everybody who attends goes to the cemetery mechanical shop for coffee and doughnuts.

"It's a time to reminisce about loved ones," Lepper said.

The annual gathering has allowed many who attend to get to know each other well, he said. It's been going on for about 30 years.

Priests from Jefferson City's three Catholic parishes - Immaculate Conception, St. Peter and the Cathedral of St. Joseph - take turns celebrating the Mass. This year, the Rev. Donald Antweiler, pastor of Immaculate Conception, has the honor.

The 10th annual Monticello Singers Memorial Day Concert is at 3 p.m. Monday at First United Methodist Church, 201 Monroe St.

Because of construction this year, the concert has been moved from the Capitol Rotunda, where it has been held since it began. Organizers hope listeners will take advantage of bountiful parking at and near First United Methodist Church.

The event features the unique music of the Mid-Missouri Men's Chorus. It will pay tribute to America's fallen here and overseas and celebrate Memorial Day and life in the United States.

Deceased veterans to be honored at Monday's ceremony include:

  • Able, Albert T
  • Adams, Edmund S.
  • Adams, Paul Leroy
  • Alexander, Terry Gene
  • Anderson, Robert Harold
  • Bax, James John
  • Bell, William Wesley
  • Blank, Larry
  • Boeckman, Albert Steven
  • Boeger, Rosss H.
  • Bonnot, Gerald Leo
  • Brandt, Charles H.
  • Brann, Willard M.
  • Branum, Richard E.
  • Braucksieker, William H.
  • Brightwell, Vernon Conway
  • Brondel, Raymond A.
  • Bryant, James G.
  • Burks, Grover B.
  • Burnett, Joseph Allen
  • Buschmann, Bernard Stephen
  • Case, Albert B. Jr.
  • Chilcutt, James Harrison
  • Clark, Forest Kenneth
  • Clemons, Phillips
  • Cole, Russell George
  • Cook, Harry Friemonth
  • Cummings, Mark Raymond
  • Davis, Albert George
  • Dixon, Larry Eugene
  • Drake, Thomas Walter
  • Dudenhoeffer, August P.
  • Dunn, Richard Joseph
  • Eichholz, Francis Eugene
  • Fast, Kenneth Vernon
  • Foley, Gerald Keith
  • Fowler, Ernest Leon
  • Gadberry, Benjamin F.
  • Gaffney, John William
  • Gibson, Paul Michael
  • Gilbert, Welton "Bo"
  • Gilmore, Raymond A. Jr.
  • Gilpin, Junior Clark
  • Goedde, Joe George
  • Goller, David R.
  • Griggs, Stephen L.
  • Gross, Edward
  • Haaf, George Herbert
  • Hagner, Frederick Harvey
  • Hall, Richard Alexander
  • Halvorson, Eugene Reynold
  • Hamacher, Carlos E.
  • Hawkins, Robert Lewis
  • Henke, Frederick Frank
  • Hofstetter, Don
  • Hoke, Harold
  • Holzhauser, Don Theodore
  • Horstdaniel, Donald J.
  • Houser, Guy B.
  • Howard, Nelson L.
  • Jackson, Murl Francis
  • Jackson, Henry A.
  • Kennedy, Patrick A.
  • Kinzel, Clarke Dennis
  • Knapp, Eliud John
  • Kolb, Robert William
  • Lair, Michael
  • Langendoerfer, Ronald
  • Larson, Raymond Allen
  • Laux, James Edward
  • Lepper, Mark Allen
  • Less, Walter William Jr.
  • Lewis, John A.
  • Markway, Donald Eugene
  • McDonald, Franklin Vinal
  • McHugh, Walter Leo
  • McMillan, Marion D.
  • Miller, Jack Lee
  • Mims, Edward Allen
  • Mueller, Ralph W.
  • Nicklas, Brooks
  • Noonan, Joseph Dennis
  • Perrey, Ralph Victor
  • Phillips, James D.
  • Ramatowski, Thomas Edward
  • Reid, Bryan J.
  • Reynolds, Ronald
  • Riggs, Edward M. "Mike"
  • Rinne, Nolen H.
  • Schaefer, Dennis Henry
  • Sharp, Jerry
  • Shoemaker, Larry James
  • Simpson, Robert E.
  • Smith, John William
  • Spratt, Eugene Jerald
  • Stogstill, Thomas
  • Stribling, David Leon
  • Struemph, Norbert Xavior
  • Tamm, Jerold Norvin
  • Tellman, David A.
  • Thessen, Walter Edward
  • Thompson, Thomas F.
  • Trim, Floyd
  • Upton, John F.
  • Wankum, Gregory Anthony
  • Watson, Floyd J.
  • Welch, William Wayne
  • White, Keith Benjamin
  • Williams, Stanley E.
  • Wilson, Dorsie Alonzo
  • Wilson, Lawrence Earl
  • Wiseman, Michael Christopher
  • Young, Larry Duane.