Manheim VFW Post 5956 will hold a Memorial Day parade and service on Monday, May 26.

The parade will start at Manheim Veterans Memorial Park, 320 Memorial Drive, Manheim, at 10 a.m. and will proceed down High Street to the square. It will continue north on Main Street and turn east on Gramby Street to return to the park.

Immediately following the parade, a service will be held at the Manheim Veterans Memorial. It will include a guest speaker, veterans' stories, recitations, and music by the Manheim Central High School band as well as a local piper band. The ceremony will conclude with the playing of taps.

The featured speaker will be retired U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Charles McGovern. Originally from Upper Darby, McGovern was drafted in 1970 and spent a year in Vietnam as an infantryman before being honorably discharged in 1971. Although he used the G.I. Bill to start a successful career as a master auto technician, after 20 years as a civilian he felt compelled to serve again. In 1994, at the age of 43, McGovern enlisted in the Pennsylvania National Guard, joining the 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry. While serving with "Franklin's Own," he deployed on a peacekeeping mission to Kosovo. Upon his redeployment in 2004, he became a full-time National Guard recruiter and later a training NCO (non-commissioned officer). When he retired in 2012, McGovern was the last Vietnam War draftee to serve with the Pennsylvania National Guard.

With 2025 marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, stories of Manheim natives who served in that war will be shared. The stories will include that of a Marine who went missing, a soldier who was killed in action, and a soldier who returned to Manheim after his service and has been a vital member of the community.