The Ames Patriotic Council will host a Memorial Day parade and ceremony to honor those who have died in service to our country Monday. 

Anyone, especially any veteran, wishing to walk or ride in the parade are welcome. Those interested in attending are encouraged to gather at 10 a.m. in the parking lot on the west side of City Hall, 515 Clark Ave, and along 5th Street on the south side of City Hall. The parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. at City Hall and proceed north on Clark Avenue and then east on 9th Street to the Ames Municipal Cemetery. 

There, the ceremony will begin at 11 a.m., where Mayor John Haila will offer a welcome from the city, and American Legion Post #37 Commander Jay Sisco will greet the audience on behalf of the Legion. The program will be introduced by Tim Gartin, President of the Ames Patriotic Council. 

Speaking at the ceremony will be Army Lt. Col. Matthew Harvey (retired). He began his affiliation with the Army in high school, where he served as a Cadet Battalion Commander of his junior ROTC battalion at Renaissance High School in Detroit. He has also served at the Pentagon, South Korea, Canada, 15 different states and Afghanistan, where he earned the Bronze Star, the Combat Infantry Badge, and the Joint Meritorious Unit Award. 

A color guard from the Des Moines Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol will present the colors, and the Ames Municipal Band, under the direction of Mike Golemo, will play patriotic music. Jim DeHoet will be the featured singer at the event. 

A list of the names of local veterans interred since last Memorial Day will be read, followed by a salute from the American Legion Honor Guard.

Due to the solemn nature of the holiday, the Patriotic Council asks those attending to refrain from distributing candy or promotional literature along the parade route.  

After the ceremony, American Legion Post #37 will provide lunch at the post, 225 Main St. in Ames. A salute to the dead will be given at the Ontario Cemetery at 1 p.m. and the Story Memorial Gardens at 1:30 p.m.

In case of rain, the parade will be canceled, and the program will move indoors to the City Hall auditorium at 11 a.m.

Volunteers are still needed to staff the barricades along the parade route from 10:15 to 11 a.m. Email Herman Quirmbach at [email protected] if interested. 

For those not available to attend in person, the program is also viewable online at https://www.facebook.com/amespatrioticcouncil/events/ and http://www.amespatrioticcouncil.org/.