South Bend and surrounding areas celebrate Memorial Day with events, services, and parades

Cheryl Morey, South Bend Tribune
Updated ·9 min read
Soldier saluting the USA flag for memorial day
Soldier saluting the USA flag for memorial day

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day, a day to honor those who lost their lives fighting in the Civil War. Ohio Rep. James A. Garfield, a former general and future U.S. president, made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery on the first Decoration Day and 5,000 participants decorated graves of the 20,000 Civil War soldiers buried there.

Memorial Day became a federal holiday in 1971 and is now observed by visiting cemeteries or memorials and participating in parades and other memorial services. Here is a listing of Memorial Day events taking place throughout the area.

EVENTS/SERVICES

• Auburn — Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum has joined the Blue Star Museums program and will offer free admission to all active-duty U.S. military personnel and their families (up to five members) through Labor Day 2024. Qualified members must show a Geneva Convention common access card, DD Form 1173 ID card, DD Form 1173-1 ID card or the Next Generation Uniformed Services ID card. The museum is open 7 days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission: adults, $15; children (ages 6 to 18), $10; 5 and under, free; automobilemuseum.org.

• Dowagiac — At 10:30 a.m. May 27, a short ceremony to honor U.S. military personnel who have died while serving in the United States armed forces will take place outside of City Hall, 241 S. Front St. The ceremony includes a featured speaker and performances by the high school and Kalamazoo bagpipe bands. The Memorial Day Parade then proceeds to Riverside Cemetery for veterans' services.

• Dowagiac — Sister Lakes Lions Club will hold a Memorial Sunday Pancake Breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon May 26. Pancakes, sausage, juice, coffee/tea. Adults, $10; children (ages 5 to 12), $5; 4 and under, free. The Lions Club is located at 66991 95th Ave. Register at sllionsclub.wixsite.com/lions.

• Edwardsburg — 2nd Annual Hero Run: 5K Run & 2K Fun Walk will be held May 27 at Cross Country Trail, Edwardsburg Sports Complex, 27566 US-12. Check-in begins at 7 a.m., run and walk begin at 8 a.m. Registration required at edwardsburgsportscomplex.org at a cost of $35 for each participant by May 26.

Memorial Day is a time to honor those who died while serving in the U.S. Military.
Memorial Day is a time to honor those who died while serving in the U.S. Military.

• Edwardsburg — The annual Memorial Day Festival will follow the 11 a.m. parade and be held in Gunn Park, 67564 Lake St. on May 27. Sponsored by Boy Scout Troup 593. Vendors, bounce house, food, live music. Additional activities including a kiddie carnival and plant sale will be at the Edwardsburg Area Historical Museum at 26818 Main St.

• Elkhart — The City of Elkhart will host the annual Memorial Day Ceremony at Rice Cemetery at 11 a.m. May 27 in honor of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of our country. Rice Cemetery is located at 400 James St.

• Elkhart — Ruthmere is offering free admission to the museum to all active-duty service men and women and their families from May 25 through Veterans Day as part of the Patriotic Program Series and Blue Star Museums program. Memorial Day will be observed on May 26. Visitors will receive a free patriotic souvenir or experience a special activity. Tours on Sunday are at 1 2 and 3 p.m. Museum hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 3 p.m. Admission: $13-$2. Ruthmere is located at 302 E. Beardsley Ave.; ruthmere.org.

• Galien — Memorial Day weekend starts May 25 with a pancake breakfast from 8 to 11 a.m. followed by a Garden Tractor Pull at noon presented by Elkhart County Garden Tractor Pullers Assoc. Weigh in for tractors at 11 a.m. on Third Street. Food available for purchase during the event; bring your own chair. At 1 p.m. Memorial Day, May 27, watch the parade as it travels south on Cleveland Avenue to U.S. 12 then east to the cemetery, where there will be a memorial ceremony. Afterwards, take in the Car and Tractor Show at the American Legion. There will be concessions, a bake sale and a 50/50 raffle. To pre-register your vehicle, email graciev06@yahoo.com with your name, make and model of car/tractor. All events will take place at the Galien American Legion, 402 N. Cleveland Ave.

• Granger — Homes for Heroes will honor and remember those who have served by placing flags on veterans' graves on May 24. At 11 a.m., the group will gather at St. Joseph Valley Memorial Park, 375 W. Cleveland Road, to place flags in the veteran section of the cemetery.

• LaPorte — The LaPorte County Historical Society Museum is offering free admission to all veterans and active-duty military personnel on May 28. The museum is located at 2405 Indiana Ave. and is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CDT Tuesdays through Saturdays. Regular admission: adults, $5; seniors, $4; children (ages 17 and under), free.

• Middlebury — American Legion Post 210 will hold its Dusk-to-Dawn Vigil at Grace Lawn Cemetery, 300 Eastern Star Drive, May 26 in honor of those who gave their lives for our country. On May 27, the Memorial Day Parade will begin at 10 a.m. from Middlebury Elementary School proceeding to Memorial Park, where a 30- to 45-minute service will be held. After the service, the veterans continue their march to Grace Lawn Cemetery, where the names of all veterans laid to rest will be read.

• New Buffalo — The New Buffalo Railroad Museum will be open on Memorial Day, May 27, from noon to 5 p.m. The museum exhibit will pay tribute to the men and women who have served in the uniformed services and have a connection to New Buffalo. Along with a detailed listing of New Buffalo area veterans, there are military artifacts, personal stories, uniform items, and a Pullman World War II Sleeper Car. The museum is free of charge.

• Porter — The Indiana Dunes National Park visitor center will honor Memorial Day with a screening of “Vietnam Nurses” from 1 to 2 p.m. CDT May 27. The documentary chronicles the important role that military nurses played during the Vietnam War. For more information call 219-395-1882 or visit www.nps.gov. The visitor center is located at 1215 N. Indiana 49.

• South Bend — May 25 and 26 is Military Appreciation days at Four Winds Field. It is a time to honor the men and women who are serving or have served our country. Those coming to the South Bend Cubs game can receive two free tickets to either Saturday or Sunday’s game by showing their Military Identification Card. Tickets can be picked up at the Box Office. A special fireworks show will follow Sunday's game.

• South Bend — The John Auten Camp of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War will conduct a Civil War era Memorial Day Program at 10 a.m. May 27 at Bowman Cemetery, 2400 Miami St. The Sons of Union Veterans represent lineal descendants of members of the Grand Army of the Republic, those who were Union Veterans of the war between the states. Members of the community are invited to participate.

Taps Across the Water will be held at dusk on Sunday, May 26 along Wawasee, Syracuse Lake, and Papakeechie Lake.
Taps Across the Water will be held at dusk on Sunday, May 26 along Wawasee, Syracuse Lake, and Papakeechie Lake.

• Syracuse — Chautauqua-Wawasee and Syracuse American Legion Post 223 will present “Taps Across the Water” on May 26. Taps will be played at 9:09 p.m. to acknowledge and honor the sacrifices made by veterans and those who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. A jet fly-over will precede the playing of taps. It is requested that everyone observe one minute of silence starting at 9:08 p.m. At 9:09 p.m., taps will sound simultaneously by buglers strategically placed on Wawasee, Syracuse Lake, and Papakeechie Lake.

PARADES

• Buchanan — The parade starts in downtown and travels to Oakridge Cemetery at 10 a.m. May 27.

• Edwardsburg — At 11 a.m. May 27, the Edwardsburg Memorial Day Parade will begin at the middle school and end at the cemetery.

• Galien — The Galien American Legion Post 344 Memorial Day Parade steps off at 1 p.m. May 27 from the Legion and will continue to the Galien Township Cemetery on U.S. 12. At the cemetery, there will be a short ceremony.

• Mishawaka — The Mishawaka Memorial Day Parade will step off at 9:30 a.m. May 27 from Main and Third streets and continue to Battell Park, 301 W. Mishawaka Ave. This year’s theme is “Women of Valor.”

• Nappanee — At 10:30 a.m. May 27, the Memorial Day parade will begin at Nappanee Elementary School, go west on Centennial Street to Indiana 19, south to Lincoln Street, west to City Hall. At 11 a.m., there will be a short ceremony at City Hall to pay respects to the brave men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.

Attendees wave flags during the Mishawaka Memorial Day Parade Monday, May 27, 2019, in downtown Mishawaka.
Attendees wave flags during the Mishawaka Memorial Day Parade Monday, May 27, 2019, in downtown Mishawaka.

• Niles — Join American Legion Larue Messenger Post 26 for the Memorial Day parade stepping off at 11 a.m. from North Second Street, traveling east on Main Street to Silverbrook Cemetery where services will be held.

• Osceola — At 8 a.m. May 27, the Osceola Memorial Day Parade will start at Osceola Street, travel west on Lincoln Way West and end at Grand Boulevard.

• St. Joseph — From noon to 1 p.m. May 24, the St. Joseph Memorial Day parade will begin at the intersection of Lake Boulevard and Park Street and will finish at the John E.N. Howard Bandshell. There will be a short program at the bandshell honoring those who served. Veterans and active-duty military are invited to join the parade.

• South Bend — The Westside Memorial Day Parade will begin at 8:15 a.m. May 27 from the intersection of Lombardy Drive and Ford Street. This year’s theme is “Lest We Forget.”

Damian Dieter sits in the cockpit of his 1976 Varga Kachina 2150 A on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in his hangar at South Bend International Airport. Dieter and other pilots are scheduled to do a flyover during the Westside Memorial Day Parade.
Damian Dieter sits in the cockpit of his 1976 Varga Kachina 2150 A on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in his hangar at South Bend International Airport. Dieter and other pilots are scheduled to do a flyover during the Westside Memorial Day Parade.

• Stevensville — The Stevensville American Legion Post 568 will host a Memorial Day Parade at 11 a.m. May 27. The route starts in front of City Hall, 5768 St. Joseph Ave., and ends at the Lincoln Charter Township Cemetery. All Veterans are invited to march, in uniform or not. Line up starts at 10:15 a.m. at City Hall.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Memorial Day services, events, and parades around Michiana area