The annual Memorial Day ceremony and parade will be held in Owego on Monday morning.
This will be the first Memorial Day without long time Master of Ceremonies and Chairman, Jim Raftis, who passed away on May 11.
Jim’s legacy will be honored by carrying on with his mission to never forget Tioga County’s fallen soldiers. Joann Walter and Mary Beth Jones will read the names of all Tioga County Residents killed in action live on WEBO beginning at 8 a.m.
The Owego Memorial Day parade will form at 9:30 a.m. on Temple Street by the Owego Police Department and kick off at 10.
The Memorial Day Ceremony will start at the conclusion of the parade at the courthouse square and will be broadcast on WEBO. Barbara Bilbrey will take on Jim’s duties as Master of Ceremonies, as he had asked before his passing.
This year’s speaker is Erwin Flohr from the Netherlands. Mr. Flohr has been taking care of the graves of Tioga County residents killed in WW2 and buried in the permanent American cemeteries in the Netherlands and Belgium. Flohr and Jim Raftis corresponded for years, but unfortunately, never were able to meet.
A luncheon at the VFW hall follows the ceremony at the courthouse.
The American Legion Post 401will also be having their annual chicken barbecue from 11 a.m. until gone at their post on Front Street.
