The Vicksburg-Warren County Memorial Day Committee and the American Legion Post 213 will kick off Memorial Day events with a parade Monday morning.

At 10 a.m., a Parade of Veterans will roll along downtown Washington Street. The parade will begin on Belmont Street and roll north to Jackson Street. A memorial service will follow at 11 a.m. at City Auditorium.

Vicksburg native and Deputy Chief of Staff, Germany Forward, Col. Charles A. Carson of the 412th Engineer Command, U.S. Army Reserve, will be the guest speaker. He was also the featured speaker in November during local Veterans Day activities.

Carson is an architectural engineering graduate from the University of Southern Mississippi and is an emergency operations planner with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Vicksburg District. He has received numerous military service awards and has worked all over the world.

The Rev. Jess Sumrall, pastor of Bovina Baptist Church, will also speak during the memorial service. A native of Houston, Texas, Sumrall has nearly 30 years of ministerial experience.

Students from the Learning Garden preschool will perform a couple of tunes and will say the “Pledge of Allegiance” in sign language.

After the service, activities will move to the Vicksburg National Cemetery, where wreaths will be placed on an unknown soldier’s grave. The event will feature a 21-gun salute and “Taps.”

Formerly known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day commemorates U.S. men and women who died in military service. It was first established to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War, but was expanded to include others after World War I.

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Contact Manivanh Chanprasith at mchan@vicksburgpost.com