Memorial Day programs, services planned
Memorial Day will be commemorated with special events during the coming days in Union County and the surrounding area.
The Memorial Day holiday will be observed on Monday, May 31.
Special events are planned in Mound City, Alto Pass, Cobden and at the Anna VFW post.
Mound City National Cemetery
The Mound City National Cemetery Preservation Commission is planning to have an annual Memorial Day gathering.
The Memorial Day program is scheduled at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 29, at Veteran’s Park in Mound City.
The speaker at the Memorial Day program is scheduled to be Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, commander of the federal forces at Cairo, circa 1861.
Portraying the Civil War Union general will be Dr. Curt Fields, a nationally recognized Grant historian from Memphis, Tenn.
The Mound City National Cemetery Preservation Commission also notes that the public is invited to an old-fashioned Preservation Picnic on May 29.
The picnic is planned at the Mound City National Cemetery Preservation Commission historic “Rawlings Reservation” home, which is located at 315 S. 4th St. in Mound City.
The picnic will be held after the Memorial Day program.
Alto Pass
The Alto Pass Area Veterans Memorial Organization is planning to conduct Memorial Day ceremonies.
The organization plans to conduct a Memorial Day ceremony at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 29. The ceremony will be at the veterans memorial in downtown Alto Pass.
The ceremony is scheduled to include a brief presentation and a three-volley salute.
The veterans also plan to conduct Memorial Day ceremonies with a three-volley salute on Monday, May 31.
Ceremonies are planned at 10 a.m. at the Alto Pass Cemetery and at 11 a.m. at the Dutch Ridge Cemetery, which is north of Alto Pass, along Illinois Route 127.
Cobden, Anna VFW Post Services
Memorial Day services are planned Monday, May 31, in Cobden and at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Carroll P. Foster Post No. 3455 near Anna.
Cobden: A Memorial Day service is planned at 9 a.m. Monday at the St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Cobden.
A service is scheduled at 9:30 a.m. at the Cobden Cemetery.
Anna VFW: The Anna VFW post plans to host a Memorial Day service at 11 a.m. on Monday.
The post is located off old U.S. Route 51, just north of Anna.