Led by members of the Gen. Benjamin Pritchard Camp 20 of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, the Allegan Memorial Day Parade 2022 stepped off from the Allegan County Courthouse Parking Lot and proceeded up Ely Street and through neighborhoods to the Oakwood Cemetery. After a 2 year hiatus due to COVID, the parade brought together, the Allegan Marching Band, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts plus numerous vehicles and the Allegan Police and Fire Departments.
Upon arrival at Oakwood Cemetery, Master of Ceremony Peter Antkoviak II of the Allegan American Legion Post 89 invited Paster Chris Laughlin of the Emmanuel Lutheran Church to offer the invocation.
The readings of the Gettysburg Address by Daniel Knight, the poem “In Flanders Field” by Maddy Antkoviak plus a poem presented by Tammy were surrounded by the playing of the patriotic hymns I Vow to Thee my Country and O Danny Boy then Arms of my Father and Shall We Gather at the River.
After the presentation of wreaths in memory of those who fought and died from the Civil War through the Iraq/Afghanistan Wars and to honor the work of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Sons and Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, the Allegan Band presented Taps. The ceremony ended with veterans from local organizations firing a salute to the fallen.
