Several local events are planned for Veterans Day – an opportunity to thank the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces, who often risk their lives to protect our freedom.

On Friday, at 1:30 p.m., the East Mississippi Veterans Foundation will be hosting a Veterans Ceremony to honor our Veterans on the site of the East Mississippi Veterans Memorial Park located at Hwy. 11 and M St. The keynote speaker will be the Mississippi’s Third Congressional District Congressman Michael Guest.

The National Anthem and special music will be presented by the Meridian Community College Concert Choir. There will be a fly-over conducted by NAS Meridian (pending).

On Sunday, Meridian’s Temple Theatre will host a performance by the Victory Belles from The National WWII Museum in New Orleans. A vocal trio, the Victory Bells perform music of the 1940s, serenading audiences with three-part harmony, honoring all military veterans, active-duty service members, their families, and community support networks.

Tickets are $10 and $15 on sale at the Temple Box Office or at the door. Call 601-693-5353 or 601-678-1162 for more information.

On Monday, there will be a Veterans Day Ceremony at the Doughboy Monument, 23rd Ave.- 6th St. in Meridian, at 10:30 a.m. The guest speaker will be Toby Bates, Professor of History at MSU Meridian. The dedication of a marker next to the Doughboy Monument honoring Lt. T.C. Carter will also be part of the program.

At noon, there will be a luncheon for Veterans at VFW Post 79, 5614 Old Hwy. 80 West., in Meridian. Then at 3 p.m., there will be a Veterans Day Parade downtown. It will begin on 9th St.-25th Ave.

Other Veterans Day Events on Monday include:

• 10:45 – Veterans Day Program at the American Legion Hut in Decatur. 

• 11 a.m. – Veterans Day Program at the Dewitt DeWeese Park in Philadelphia. In case of bad weather, the program will be held at the Neshoba County Coliseum. Speaker for the program will be LTC William Henry, who served as commanding officer for the 298th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, headquartered in Philadelphia.

• 12:15 p.m. – The public is invited to join students and faculty at East Mississippi Community College in Scooba as they pay tribute to the nation’s military with “God Bless America Day” in the Chapel of the Pines on the Scooba campus.