Above / The 2022 Memorial Day observance is set to begin with a wreath laying and flag raising ceremony followed by Taps at 7:45AM Mon., May 30, at the Commander Dan Shanower Sept. 11 Memorial, located along the Riverwalk behind the Naperville Municipal Building.
Members of VFW Post 3873 and American Legion Post 43 will participate in Memorial Day services and the Memorial Day Parade on Mon., May 30, 2022. All Veterans are welcome.
Plans are to return to the regular schedule of remembrance events that existed prior to COVID-19, noted 2022 Memorial Day Parade Chairman Tom Parker.
Spectators are expected to line the parade route along Jackson Avenue, Washington Street and Benton Avenue as the Memorial Day Parade ventures toward Central Park. For 2022, Veterans will resume their normal day of activities, honoring this nation’s fallen brothers and sisters, and families that have given the ultimate sacrifice.
Weather Forecast Update, May 28, 2022 / When early morning flag raisings begin Memorial Day, the sky is expected to have intermittent clouds with sunshine and temperatures in the low 70s, rising to 84 degrees by noon. Humidity will be low. Still, BYO water to observances. Be safe.
Schedule for Memorial Day Laying Wreaths
7:45AM Service at City Hall (Cmdr. Dan Shanower Memorial)
8:15AM Service at G.A.R. Monument in Naperville Cemetery (south side)
8:35AM Service at Veterans Park (100 E. Gartner Road)
9AM Service at Ss. Peter & Paul Cemetery (911 North Avenue)
9:25AM Service at Burlington Square (307 N. Ellsworth Street)
Memorial Day Parade / Official Parade Start 10:30AM
10AM Parade Line-up (vicinity of West Street and Jackson Avenue)
10:15AM Veterans step off with tributes to start the parade, stopping at 10:20AM near the Riverwalk Veterans Plaza (during parade). The Ceremony to Honor the Fallen, an observance accompanied by patriotic music performed by the Naperville Municipal Band, takes place along Jackson Avenue just north of the Riverwalk Civic Plaza and Veterans Plaza.
10:30AM The parade follows Jackson Avenue east to Washington Street. At Washington, the parade heads north to Benton Avenue. At Benton, the parade goes east and turns into Central Park at Court Place.
Observance in Naperville’s Central Park
12 Noon 30-minute ceremony at Naperville Community Concert Center in Central Park (approximate start time following the parade.) Naperville Municipal Band will perform. Neuqua Valley High School student Yashas Sardesai will deliver his award-winning speech that received high honors in the 2022 State Oratorical Contest sponsored by the American Legion.
The National Moment of Remembrance
3PM The National Moment of Remembrance is an annual event set for 3PM on Memorial Day. No matter what time zone, the 3PM time was chosen as a time to pause and reflect because mid-afternoon is when many Americans are enjoying their freedoms on Memorial Day.
‘They know for what objects we relinquished the delights of domestic society, of tranquility and science, and committed ourselves to the ocean of revolution, to wear out the only life God has given here, the benefits of which will accrue only to those who follow us.’ —Thomas Jefferson
Memorial Day 2022
Special thanks to Brandon Wagoner and family for decorating Don and Carol Crookston’s gravesite for Memorial Day. My dad served in the Navy Seabees in the South Pacific during World War II.