NILES — To remember U.S. soldiers who sacrificed their lives to serve the country, the American Legion Post #26 will host the annual Memorial Day parade, followed by a ceremony at Silverbrook Cemetery.

The parade will start at 10 a.m. Monday, May 28. The lineup will begin on State Street and proceed down Main Street and to the historic Silverbrook Cemetery. The events are free and open to the public to attend.

Robert Ahrens, the parade organizer and commander of the American Legion Post #26, said the parade will feature a variety of floats, classic cars and band music played by local high school students. When the parade wraps up, the community is invited to meet at the Silverbrook Cemetery, where a ceremony to salute deceased veterans will take place. Ahrens will speak on this topic during the ceremony and high school band students will play music.

Ahrens invited the community to take part in the event to recognize the soldiers lost.

“[This event is] to remember the ultimate sacrifice of all the veterans,” Ahrens said.  “All you have to do is read the bricks at the [Riverfront] Memorial to see the commemoration of the loss of family members during wars and conflicts.”

Ahrens is a Vietnam veteran, who joined the Niles American Legion in 2004. The Memorial Day parade has long been a tradition for the local legion and he said he was not sure how many years the parade has taken place.

What frustrates Ahrens is that for some Memorial Day is analogous with sales on merchandise across the nation. Ahrens said he believes that this is causing people to forget the true meaning of the holiday.

“It is not about sales — no, for cripes sake,” Ahrens said.

Despite advertisements for deals on a variety of items, Ahrens reminded people to remember the reason that Memorial Day was created.

Prior to the Memorial Day Parade, the American Legion Post #26 will also host a wreath-laying ceremony at 1 p.m. Sunday, at the memorial in Riverfront Park. The ceremony seeks to commemorate the soldiers who lost their lives at sea. The wreath will be ceremoniously tossed from the Broadway Bridge into the St. Joseph River.

Other Memorial Day events include:

• The Buchanan American Legion will host a Memorial Day Parade starting at 10 a.m. Monday, May 28. The parade will proceed down Front Street, west to Terre Coupe Street out to Oak Ridge Cemetery. In the event of rain, the ceremony will take place at the American Legion Post 51.

• Memorial Day events will take place in Dowagiac at 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 28. There will be a ceremony outside city hall. The parade will proceed to Riverside Cemetery for a Veterans’ Service. The event is hosted by the Masons of Peninsular Lodge #10.

• In Edwardsburg, there will be a Hero Haul, a food and item drive for veterans. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, May 28, and is host by the Edwardsburg Presbyterian Church. A parade will follow at 11 a.m. and a free festival will take place in Gunn Park, until 2 p.m.

• In Cassopolis, a Memorial Day parade will begin at 11 a.m. Monday, May 28.  The parade starts at the post office and ends at Prospect Hill Cemetery.