A list of Veterans Day activities as submitted to The Vindicator:
Boardman: The West Boulevard Elementary School, 6125 West Blvd., is having a Veterans Day luncheon and program today at the school. The luncheon is from 10:45 a.m. to noon, and the program is from 12:15 to 12:40 p.m. The program includes music by the third-grade pupils.
Coitsville: Donald Lockett VFW Post 6488, 2065 Coitsville-Hubbard Road, will honor members of World War II's Red Ball Express at ceremonies beginning at 11 a.m. Monday at the post home. The guest of honor is James D. Rookard of Cleveland, who was a driver for the Red Ball Express.
North Jackson: Jackson-Milton School District's annual Veterans Day ceremony is at 9 a.m. today at the high school gymnasium. Veterans, their families and friends, and members of the community are invited. Armed forces members will be recognized, with special searing for the veterans.
Struthers: Struthers Middle School's seventh-grade advanced language arts pupils are hosting a Veterans Day assembly at 1:50 p.m. today at the school, 800 Fifth St. Pupils in grades fifth through eighth will participate in the program, to which the community is invited, by reading "What a Veteran Means to Me," poems and speeches. American Legion Post 158 will post and retire the colors. Refreshments will be served after the assembly.
Struthers: The public is invited to a Veterans Day ceremony at the Struthers Veterans Memorial, 111 Euclid Ave., at 11 a.m. Monday. U.S. Rep. Timothy Ryan of Niles, D-17th, is the main speaker.
Youngstown: The United Veterans Council, which represents some 30 veterans organizations in the Mahoning Valley, is having its annual Veterans Day program at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Mahoning County Courthouse in downtown Youngstown. The guest speaker is Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brad Davidson. The program will include a POW remembrance by Ray Ornelas, senior vice commander of VFW Post 3538; the laying of wreaths at the courthouse and The Man on the Monument; a salute to fallen comrades by the Tri-State Marine Corps League, and taps by Joe Pavlov and Brad Gessner. Laura Minenok, a freshman at New Castle, Pa., High School, will sing the national anthem.
Youngstown: Sts. Peter & Paul Church, 421 Covington St., will celebrate a Veterans Day Mass honoring all veterans at 10 a.m. Sunday. A wreath-laying ceremony will be followed by refreshments. Among those attending will be John Bistrica, World War II veteran who was in the first infantry wave at Omaha Beach in Normandy. The main speaker is Youngstown Municipal Judge Robert Milich, who retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel. Judge Milich, who served four years on active duty and 24 years at the 910th Air Lift Wing at Youngstown Air Force Reserve Station in Vienna, will also present the Knight of Legion of Honor medal to Bistrica, who was awarded the medal by the Counsul General of France in Chicago on behalf of the French Republic and in recognition of his "valorous action during World War II."
Youngstown: Dr. Herbert L. Armstrong and Anthony Feldes will be honored at the ninth annual Forgotten Heroes program at 2 p.m. Sunday at Oak Hill Cemetery, 344 Oak Hill Ave. Dr. Armstrong was a World War II Army veteran and a 1938 graduate of South High School. Feldes, inducted into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame in 2006, served 30 years in the Marine Corps.
Youngstown: Youngstown State University will conduct a ceremony honoring the military service of the community's veterans at 11 a.m. Saturday at Veterans Plaza outside of Beeghly Center. Halftime of the YSU football game in Stambaugh Stadium on Saturday also will be dedicated to veterans. The game begins at 1 p.m.
Girard: The Girard Veterans Council will have its Veterans Day program and parade on Sunday. The parade will form at the corner of Broadway and Market Streets, and step off at 10:20 a.m. and proceed to the Girard Viaduct, where there will be a short service and a wreath will be tossed into the Mahoning River. The parade will then continue to the War Memorial in front of City Hall, where Mayor James Melfi will speak at a brief ceremony. A wreath will be placed at the memorial and the Girard Veterans Council Honor Guard will fire a 21-gun salute. The council consists of American Legion Post 235, Army-Navy Garrison 422, and VFW Post 419.
Hubbard: Roosevelt Elementary School, 110 Orchard Ave., will have a Veterans Day assembly at 1:45 p.m. today at the school for pupils and veterans only. Pupils will sit with veterans from their families. There will be a short program honoring veterans, followed by a reception.
Liberty: The Liberty Historical Society and Liberty Township will be honoring our veterans at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Township Building on state Route 304. The veterans will be telling their stories and the high school students will be videotaping it. Refreshments will be served. All veterans are welcome.
Newton Falls: The Veterans Day program at Newton Falls High School, sponsored by the Class of 2008, is at 8:30 a.m. today. The program will be highlighted by the presentation of a Newton Falls High School diploma to a veterans who gave up his school years to defend the nation. The program includes student-produced music, poems, tributes to veterans, and slide show presentations. The school is at 907 Milton Blvd.
Niles: Veterans Day services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at the Niles City Cemetery, located at the intersection of Niles-Vienna Road and Vienna Avenue (state Route 46). Air Force Master Sgt. Bryan Ripple, of the 910th Airlift Wing, is the main speaker. The event is sponsored by American Legion William McKinley Post 106.
Warren: A Veterans Day ceremony and parade will be held Monday at the Doughboy in Memorial Park on Mahoning Avenue downtown across from the courthouse. The ceremony will begin at 11 with Jim Rapone, a Vietnam veteran, as guest speaker. The parade will begin around 12:15.
Hermitage: Whispering Oaks Retirement Community, 260 S. Buhl Farm Drive, is having a Veterans Day Salute from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday. The program outside at the flagpole will begin at 3 p.m. and the indoor activities immediately after. The main speakers are Ralph Hudspeth, a second lieutenant in the Army during World War II, and Army reserve Major Larry Scheetz, who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Activities inside will include a Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom slide show. The public is invited.
New Castle: The annual Veterans Day parade is set to start at downtown at 11 a.m. Saturday. The parade will begin forming at 10 a.m. on the Columbus Innerbelt behind Cascade Galleria. Zambelli Fireworks Internationale will provide the initial salute to start the parade. The parade, conducted by the Lawrence County Veterans Council, will cross Jefferson Street onto Croton Avenue and continue to East Washington Street. At East Washington Street, the parade will make a left and continue through downtown New Castle to the right side of Kennedy Square, past the reviewing stand in front of Rite Aid drug store and back to the innerbelt to disband. This year's parade marshal is Veterans Council Commander Emmett Shaffer. The grand marshal will be Thomas E. Lane, a Vietnam War veteran.