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ELKINS -- The H.W. Daniels Post 29 American Legion will host several public events this weekend as part of its Veterans Day celebration.
The annual day of remembrance that honors all those who have served in the military, past or present, falls on Saturday this year. That means federal employees will observe the holiday the previous day, on Friday. Many schools and companies will also be closed in observance of the holiday.
Post 29's activities will kick off on Friday when a Veterans Day Parade is held in downtown Elkins. Those participating will assemble at 11:30 a.m. next to Southern States on South Davis Avenue.
The parade will officially begin at 1 p.m. and will move north along Davis Avenue before turning down Sixth Street and onto Railroad Avenue. The parade will conclude at the Elkins Railroad Train Depot/Welcome Center.
"This is the third straight year that we've had the parade, and we are trying to make it a regular thing," Ninth District American Legion Commander Donnie Lambert told The Inter-Mountain Tuesday. "We have several organizations planning on taking part in the parade and I'm sure we will have some groups just show up for it, which we don't mind as well… I'm not sure who is going to lead it, possibly the West Virginia Highlanders because they have the color guard with them."
The annual Veterans Day ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the All-Veterans Memorial on the corner of Harrison and Railroad avenues in Elkins. In the event of inclement weather, the event will be moved to the American Legion.
"It would be nice if we are able to have the ceremony at the All-Veterans Memorial this year," said Lambert. "The last two years we've had to move it indoors because of the weather."
The guest speaker for the ceremony will be Daryle Bayless from the West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance. City of Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco will also speak at the event.
The two-day celebration will be capped off by the annual Veterans Day dinner on Saturday night. Social hour is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the dinner set to begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are available for non-veterans and non-service members at the American Legion. Veterans and service members can attend and eat the spaghetti dinner for free.
"I've always enjoyed being able to be a part of Veterans Day," Lambert said. "Veterans are important, especially since everyone that has served since Vietnam has been an all-volunteer force. No one has to serve, everyone is there because they want to. To be able to honor them is the least we can do for them, recognize them, and recognize the sacrifices that they make."