The Bitterroot Valley Memorial Day Schedule for May 28
The highlight of Memorial Day in the Bitterroot Valley is Corvallis American Legion Post 91's Memorial Day Parade. It's at 10 a.m. on Main Street, starting from the Corvallis High School. Hundreds and hundreds of people turn out to watch. But that's not the only ceremony on this year's Memorial Day schedule.
Hamilton's American Legion 47 will have three ceremonies in the 8 a.m. hour Monday, each with a 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps. The first is at 8 a.m. with the laying of a wreath at the World War I doughboy statue on the Ravalli County Museum lawn. At 8:25 a.m., the Post members will drop a wreath in the Bitterroot River at Hamilton Main Street Bridge and at 8:45 a.m. they'll be at the G.A.R. monument at Riverview Cemetery for a wreath placement and rifle salute and Taps. Then, they're headed to Corvallis for the parade.
Meanwhile in Corvallis, the Community Events Center crew will have breakfast for the public from 7 a.m. to about 9:30 a.m. in the Corvallis School Lunchroom. The 2018 Memorial Day Parade has four V.I.P. Grand Marshals - all World War II veterans and all over the age of 95. Ken Gardner, Bill Sperry, Carl Swanson and John Gurtner will be riding in the WWII jeeps at the head of the procession. The parade will start with the firing of a cannon and skydivers bringing the American flag down through the clouds. The Montana Acapella Society and the Corvallis High School Band will perform the Star Spangled Banner and the parade will be underway. Get there early and be ready to encounter heavy traffic (Bitterroot-style) both before and after the parade. The Corvallis American Legion Post will then have a ceremony on the Corvallis Cemetery, where all the names will be read of veterans buried there, A wreath will then be dropped into the Bitterroot River at the Woodside Bridge.
The Florence-Carlton Community Church will have its 62nd Memorial Day Service and Dinner, starting with a Flag Raising Ceremony at 11 a.m. and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The public is invited. The cost is $7 for adults, $4 for kids.