Memorial Day brings Walker, ceremonies and parade to area

Memorial Day weekend will offer Wauwatosa residents several opportunities to honor veterans in the city and nearby. All are open to the public.

Wauwatosa's official observance, 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 26, at Longfellow Middle School, will include a performance by the Wauwatosa Community Band and a presentation by U.S. Air Force veteran Cortney Maynard. It will last about an hour.

Maynard, now a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, will discuss her time serving in several stateside locations, as well as in Germany and Iraq, before she left the Air Force due to injuries. She has been awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal and Iraq Campaign Medal.

Also the morning of Memorial Day, Pinelawn Memorial Park, 10700 W. Capitol Drive, will have a ceremony beginning at 9:45 a.m. to recognize veterans of World War II. A WWII veteran will speak about his service, local students will play a bugle and bagpipe, and there will be a flag ceremony.

Saturday, May 24, Pinelawn will host volunteers at 9 a.m. who will place American flags on every grave. At 11 a.m., the cemetery will break ground on a new mausoleum.

For those looking for a parade, the city's neighbor to the west, Elm Grove, will have one beginning at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Village Park, 13600 Juneau Blvd., ending at Wall Street near Elm Grove Road. Kids can meet before the parade at 9:30 a.m. for prizes for the best-decorated bikes.

To the southeast, Gov. Scott Walker will be speaking at Wood National Cemetery during a ceremony that begins at 9:15 a.m. Monday. Guests are asked to park at the VA Medical Center, 5000 W. National Ave., and take a shuttle.