The Manheim VFW Post 5956 - Cyrus R. Peters Memorial Post and Auxiliary invite you to observe Memorial Day in Manheim. The remembrance will begin with a parade starting at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 29. It will kick off on Memorial Drive and will head west on High Street, north on Main Street and east on Gramby Street before returning to Memorial Park. The parade will include members of the Pennsylvania National Guard, several local fire departments, the Mount Joy Legion Riders and the Manheim Central High School marching band, along with some of the high school sports teams. Local veterans are invited to walk in the parade as well.

"This parade is a reminder to the Manheim community to pause and reflect upon the true meaning of Memorial Day," said Craig Fisher, Post 5956 commander. "This day of remembrance was created to honor the millions of brave men and women who died in military service to the United States of America."

Immediately following the parade, Manheim VFW member William King will direct a ceremony at Memorial Park. The keynote speaker will be Command Sgt. Maj. Charles Trofe, a long-serving member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, who is currently with the 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry.

The ceremony will include readings of the winning entries of the local VFW Patriot's Pen and Voice of Democracy student essay contests, recitation of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, music by the Manheim Central High School band and the playing of taps to honor the fallen. King will continue the tradition of "Meet Our Fallen" by speaking about Ammon Gibble, who was the first Manheim-area resident to be killed in action during World War I.

This year, a highlight of the ceremony will be the official groundbreaking for the new Veterans Memorial Plaza that will be developed in Memorial Park this year. The plaza will honor the service of residents from the Manheim area who served in the military during both peace and wartime. It will include flagpoles for the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard standards, along with the Merchant Marines of World War II.

To help fund the project, the group is selling engraved bricks that will be placed along the plaza's Path of Honor. "We are encouraging people to join the 'Brick Brigade' by purchasing a brick," said George Schwartz, who is chairing the project. He noted that there will be a discount on bricks honoring World War II veterans, adding that there were more than 1,000 men and women from the Manheim area who served in World War II. "We'd like to honor all of them, so you don't have to know somebody who served but you can still dedicate a brick to a World War II veteran," Schwartz explained. "We have a complete roster, and we can provide people with a name so if they want to purchase a brick in honor of a World War II veteran, they can do that." Brick order forms will be available at the Memorial Day ceremony.

"All around our community, we are surrounded by neighbors, co-workers, family, friends and strangers who have lost a loved one to war," Fisher remarked. "We all owe a debt of gratitude for those sacrifices, and on this day, we can show our gratitude by keeping fallen service members and those they left behind in our hearts and minds."