Posts are hosting parades, ceremonies and other events leading up to and throughout Memorial Day Weekend.
On Memorial Day, American Legion Family members annually honor the more than 1 million men and women who have lost their lives defending America since the Revolutionary War by hosting post events, participating in community parades, dedicating memorials and more.
Similar efforts will occur nationwide on or around Memorial Day on May 26, as posts, Auxiliary Units, Sons of The American Legion squadrons and American Legion Riders will take part or host parades and ceremonies to commemorate the day.
In the nation’s capital, American Legion National Vice Commander Charles K. Robbins will take part in the annual Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. And just over a mile away, fellow National Vice Commander Roger P. Mathison will attend a similar observation at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Please share with our Media & Communications Division how your American Legion Family observed this sacred holiday by uploading your stories and photos of your Memorial Day celebrations to Legiontown.org.
And as a final reminder: An American Legion Memorial Day speech for 2025 is available for American Legion departments, districts and posts to use for Memorial Day events. The speech is available here. It is not meant to be recited verbatim; American Legion members are greatly encouraged to amend it to taste and audience.
Below are a few examples of what Legion Family members have planned or already have done.
California
In Huntington Beach, American Legion Post 133 is teaming up with the city for a Memorial Day ceremony at Pier Plaza that will include Post 133’s honor guard, live music, a wreath ceremony and guest speakers. One of the speakers is H. Delano Roosevelt, the grandson of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Colorado
In District 12, Buena Vista Post 55, Salida Post 64, Fairplay Post 172 and Bailey Post 2527 will conduct a Memorial Day service on top of Hoosier Pass on May 25. For more than 40 years the posts have performed the ceremony at the pass, where the elevation is 11,542 feet. Local Veterans of Foreign Wars post and first responders also take part in the ceremony.
Post 55 also performs a Memorial Day service at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Buena Vista at the gravesite of the post namesake, Earnest Clifford Sexton, who was killed in action during World War I.
Connecticut
In Newtown, American Legion Post 202 will conduct its annual Memorial Day Weekend observance on May 24 at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. The observance will include live music, guest speakers and the distribution of poppies by junior members of the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 202 and Sons of The American Legion Squadron 202.
Post 202 also has been selling luminaries for a $5 donation; the luminaries can be dedicated to a veteran or a loved one.
Florida
· In Lady Lake, Veterans Memorial Post 347 will hold a Memorial Day observance ceremony at the Lady Lake Cemetery. Guest speakers will include Gold Star Family members who lost sons in Iraq and Afghanistan, respectively; and Lady Lake Mayor Ed Freeman, a member of Post 347. The ceremony also includes the reading of names of post members who have died in the past year.
· In Babcock Ranch, American Legion Post 415 worked with the Babcock Ranch Residential Association Life-Style Department to arrange for the 13th Army Band of Miramar, Fla., to perform during a Memorial Day weekend May 24 event at Founders Square. “Post 415 is honored to have played a part in securing this highly demanded and talented group of soldier/musicians to perform at Babcock Ranch, and on a weekend of such patriotic significance, as we as a nation focus on honoring those servicemembers who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our Country,” Post 415 Commander Karl Werrlein said via press release.
· In Destin, Davis-Sikes Post 296 will hold its annual remembrance at the Destin Memorial Cemetery. Members of the post’s Legion Family will provide remarks; a wreath-laying ceremony also will take place.
France
In Paris, American Legion Post 1 will provide Memorial Day ceremonies at four different sites: Lafayette Escadrille Memorial, Paris Post 1 Mausoleum La Defense, Suresnes American Cemetery and Pershing Hall.
Illinois
· In Thawville, American Legion Post 700 and other posts in the area will bus the high school band and choir to ceremonies at four different area cemeteries.
· In Centralia, American Legion Post 446 is conducting its first Memorial Day Bicycle Ride and Memorial Ceremony. The free six-mile community ride will begin at 9 a.m., with participants meeting and taking off from the post.
· In Chicago, William McKinley American Legion Post 231 will host a Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony that will be attended by 11th Ward Alderwoman Nicole Lee and Cook County 11th District Commissioner John P. Daley. Post 231 also is conducting a parade and will provide food for attendees.
Iowa
· In Council Bluffs, American Legion Post 2’s Legion Family worked with local high school students to install U.S. flags at Graceland Cemetery. The post’s honor guard will conduct three small wreath-laying ceremonies and one ceremony that is cosponsored by the City of Council Bluffs. The ceremonies will take place at Walnut Hill Cemetery, Fairview Cemetery and at Thomas Jefferson High School’s Fountain of Honor, which honors World War I veterans. A special ceremony will take place at Bayliss Park and will feature the Abraham Lincoln High School ROTC, a wreath laying, guest speakers and more.
· In Clutier, Hora-Machacek Post 453 will conduct Memorial Day events that include a flag raising at the post; and ceremonies at Clutier Cemetery, Oneida Cemetery, Holy Trinity Cemetery, St. Wenceslaus Cemetery and National Cemetery in Vining.
Maine
In Camden, War Memorial Post 30 will conduct Memorial Day events in Camden, Rockport and Lincolnville. The day will include parades and ceremonies in all three communities. The ceremonies will take place at local memorials, cemeteries and public areas.
Maryland
In Ellicott City, American Legion Post 156 will host a Memorial Day remembrance ceremony at St. John’s Episcopal Church that will include speakers, and a ceremony involving veterans, the Howard County Civil Air Patrol and local Scouts.
Minnesota
In Eagan, Daniel R. Olsen Post 594 American Legion will host its annual "Never Forget Memorial Day Concert and Tribute" at the Eagan Tribute Plaza.
Missouri
· In Webb City, American Legion Post 13 is teaming with Charlie 22 Outdoors and Mountain Hope Cemetery to conduct a Memorial Day ceremony at the cemetery. The ceremony will include the interning of ashes of a veteran from Joplin who passed away in 2011 and who had gone unclaimed.
· In Festus, American Legion Post 253 is hosting a public Memorial Day ceremony at Larry Crites Memorial Park. Following the ceremony, food and drinks will be served at the post.
· In Hannibal, American Legion Post 55 will start the day with a ceremony at Grandview Cemetery, host a service at the post facility and then conduct another observance at the Hannibal riverfront. Following the third service, members of the post’s honor guard and Legion Riders chapter will head to seven local cemeteries for additional services.
New Jersey
· In Longport, American Legion Post 469 has coordinated the community Memorial Day service for more than 60 years. This year’s event will include a parade with a possible F-16 flyover, local civic officials, a military guest of honor, Post 469’s Color Guard, first responders and “Teen Patriots”, who will hand out small American flags to the children along the parade route. A ceremony will take place at the end of the parade and will be followed by a hot dog picnic.
· In Neptune and ahead of Memorial Day, members of Post 346’s Color Guard fired rifle volleys over the graves of fallen servicemembers at nine local cemeteries. The public ceremonies took place at Wayside United Methodist Church, Mount Cavalry Cemetery, Shelmas Jewish Cemetery, St. George Greek Cemetery, Mount Prospect Cemetery, Monmouth Memorial Park, St. Anne’s Cemetery, Glendola Cemetery and Hamilton Cemetery.
New York
· In the Town of Mount Pleasant, Adolph Pfister Post 1038 is hosting a Valhalla Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony, a tradition that dates back to pre-World War II.
· In The City of Rye, American Legion Auxiliary Unit 128 has organized a Memorial Day parade that will include Legionnaires, marching bands, cyclists, classic cars, Rye’s Boys and Girls Scouts, Rye school groups and local government officials. Post 128 Commander Fred de Barros will lead the ceremony. Mayor Josh Cohn, U.S. Rep. George Latimer, State Sen. Shelley Mayer and New York Assemblyman Steve Otis are expected to offer welcoming remarks and greetings.
· In West Babylon, Sgt. John Sardiello Post 1634 is sponsoring the annual Memorial Day Parade. A memorial service and wreath-laying ceremony will take place after the parade and will be followed by a community picnic.
· In Garden City, William Bradford Turner Post 265 will sponsor a public Memorial Day ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Plaza following the conclusion of the Memorial Day parade. Post Commander Frank Tauches will lead the ceremony.
Oregon
In Vernonia, American Legion Post 119 will have a strong presence in the city’s Memorial Day Ceremony. Post Commander Bill Sherman will deliver the Memorial Day speech.
South Carolina
· In Chapin, American Legion Post 193 is teaming with the town to host a Memorial Day ceremony at Chapin Town Hall. An indoor reception will immediately follow the outdoor ceremony. Members of the public are invited to share the images, names and ranks of those killed in action as a way of publicly acknowledging their sacrifice.
· In Lugoff, Larry Jeffers Post 195 again will provide flags for the graves at Fort Jackson National Cemetery. The post has been doing so since 2009 and has purchased nearly 14,000 flags from American Legion Emblem Sales – including 4,000 this year.
Texas
In Colony, Holley-Riddle Post 21’s Memorial Day ceremony will focus on remembering and honoring the fallen U.S. servicemembers, while also educating the public on the history and traditions associated with Memorial Day.
Joe Hajost, a U.S. Military Academy graduate and the post’s Ambassador for Community Relations and Outreach, will serve as the guest speaker.
Wisconsin
· In Spring Valley, American Legion Post 227 will use Memorial Day to dedicate its new war memorial stone. The stone is over five feet tall and serves as a tribute to those from the Spring Valley community who served and sacrificed their lives when they answered this country's call to war. The dedication ceremony will be a part of the post’s annual Memorial Day remembrance ceremony.
· In West Bend, Lt. Ray Dickop American Legion Post 36 Legion and fellow veterans organizations will pay tribute to the servicemembers who have fallen in the line of duty by conducting a Memorial Day parade and program. A pre-parade will also be held before the larger parade, during which the Legion will visit West Bend cemeteries to pay tribute to the veterans laid to rest there.
- Memorial Day