CINCINNATI -- Monday marks the 150th anniversary of Memorial Day.
The holiday, begun after the Civil War, honors those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country's security and freedom.
Here are some of the events being held all around Greater Cincinnati (if you don't see your community's event, please email us at newsdesk@wcpo.com with the details):
Arlington Memorial Gardens (Mount Healthy)
The Arlington Memorial Gardens hosts Remembering Our Fallen, a traveling exhibit honoring the nearly 7,000 military sons and daughters whose lives were lost since Sept. 11, 2001. The exhibit is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday. The cemetery's "Field of Memories" features 1,000 flags, raised and lighted atop 7-foot poles, to honor the fallen. At 3 p.m., there will be a reading of the names of those to whom the flags are dedicated.
Bellevue and Dayton
The 89th annual Bellevue-Dayton Memorial Day Parade begins at 10:30 a.m., starting in Dayton, Kentucky and ending in Bellevue.
Blue Ash
The parade will begin at 10 a.m. on Reed Hartman Highway and Cooper Road. It will proceed east on Cooper to Kenwood, south on Kenwood to Hunt, and east on Hunt before concluding at the Bicentennial Veterans Memorial Park. A ceremony begins at the park at 11:30 a.m.
Also, the Blue Ash/Montgomery Symphony Orchestra Memorial Day Concert will begin at 6 p.m. at Blue Ash Towne Square.
Colerain Township
Beginning at 10 a.m., a ceremony will begin at the Gateway Memorial located on the southwest corner of Springdale Road and Colerain Avenue. Wreaths will be laid at each of the five memorial plaques honoring the Colerain Township Police Department; the Colerain Township Department of Fire and EMS; the Colerain Township Public Services; the Colerain Township Historical Society and for each branch of the United States military.
Eden Park (Cincinnati)
Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 10 will hold its annual Memorial Day Ceremony at 10 a.m. at the Vietnam Memorial Park in Eden Park, 986 St. Paul Dr.
Evendale
The village of Evendale is set to dedicate a section of Interstate 75 in honor of Lance Cpl. Christopher J. Dyer, a Marine killed in action in Iraq in 2005. The event will begin outside the Evendale Veterans, Police and Fire Memorial Clock Tower at 4 p.m. Then, a police-escorted motorcade will head to the site of the sign along I-75 for the unveiling.
Fairfield
Fairfield's parade also begins at 10 a.m., starting in the parking lot of Express Scripts, at 4865 Winton Road. The parade ends at Fairfield Veterans Memorial Park. A band will perform patriotic music and other favorites at Veterans Memorial Park, also starting at 10 a.m. After the parade, a brief ceremony will take place at the park.
Hamilton
The city of Hamilton parade begins at 10 a.m. on Neilan Boulevard, then travel east on Court Street, north on Second Street, east on High Street, north on Seventh Street, and then goes east on Heaton and on to Greenwood Cemetery, 1602 Greenwood Ave. There, there will be a ceremony beginning about 11:15 a.m.
Also, the Butler County Historical Society will re-open the historic Soldiers, Sailors and Pioneers Monument on Front Street for Memorial Day visits from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Highland Cemetery (Fort Mitchell)
The Memorial Day Program begins at 10 a.m. near the chapel at Highland Cemetery, 2167 Dixie Highway in Fort Mitchell.
Middletown
The parade begins at 10 a.m. at Smith Park and will take Verity Parkway to Woodside Cemetery. At the cemetery, there will be a memorial service at 11:30 a.m.
Milford
The parade will start at Memorial Park at 9:30 a.m. and make its way to Greenlawn Cemetery, with a program there. There will also be a memorial at St. Andrew Cemetery.
Park Hills
The Memorial Day parade begins at 11:30 a.m. on Dixie Highway. It continues to Arlington Road, then on to Old State Road, Terrace Drive, Amsterdam Road to Park Drive. At the end of the parade, there will be a flag raising ceremony at Trolley Park.
Spring Grove Cemetery (Cincinnati)
The Sons of Union Veterans will be joined by the 6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a progressive living history and Civil War reenactment group to commemorate the the 150th anniversary of Memorial Day at 11 a.m.
At 11:45 a.m., there will be a Civil War-era concert.
At 12:30 p.m., renowned Lincoln historian Stan Wernz will invite guests to "Meet Mr. Lincoln."
And at 1:15 p.m., there will be a historical walking tour at the cemetery.
Also, the cemetery is accepting all worn flags through the Memorial Day weekend and in the month of June for proper disposal.
Terrace Park
The Terrace Park Memorial Day Parade begins at 10 a.m., with a memorial service and hanging of the wreath immediately following on the Village Green.
Union Township (in Clermont County)
The Memorial Day Commemoration at Union Township Veterans Park is now in its 25th year. The Vietnam Veterans of America, Clermont County Chapter 649 will begin reading the names of the fallen at 6 a.m. Over the course of eight hours, the names of local soldiers killed in Vietnam will be read. A field of white crosses near the helicopter memorial will represent each veteran whose name is read.
A memorial ceremony will begin at 2 p.m.
Union Township Veterans Memorial Park is located at the corner of Clough Pike and Glen Este-Withamsville Road.
West Chester Township
The parade, beginning at 10 a.m., will follow a new route. It starts at Aviation Way and Dimmick Road, travels north on Cincinnati-Dayton Road to West Chester Road before heading west to Brookside Cemetery.
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WCPO media partner the Journal-News provided some of the information for this listing of events.
