Memorial Day events planned throughout region

Monday is Memorial Day, a day to honor those who died while serving in the U.S. armed forces.

Several events have been planned in the area, beginning Saturday. Among them:

• Fort D Historic Site, Cape Girardeau: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday through Monday; local re-enactors will honor the memory of veterans past and present. The renovated stone building known as the blockhouse will be open for visitors.
• Log Church/St. Lawrence Catholic Church, New Hamburg, Memorial Day Mass: 7 a.m. Monday.
• Avenue of Flags, Cape County Park North, Cape Girardeau: 8 a.m. Monday. Twenty-five new flags will be added. Flags will come down at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
• Memorial Day Murph, Healthpoint, Jackson: The Murph is completed on Memorial Day to honor Navy Lt. Michael Murphy, who died June 28, 2005, in Afghanistan. It consists of a 1-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats and finishes with another 1-mile run. Members of Healthpoint are welcome, and non-members must arrive 10 to 15 minutes early to sign a waiver.
• Osage Centre, Cape Girardeau: 10:30 a.m. Monday; Cape Girardeau resident and retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Bill Adams will speak. Adams is an Iraq War veteran, serving from 2003 to 2004. His many awards and citations include the U.S. Army Legion of Merit, Maj. Gen. Charles DuBois for Excellence Award and a Citation for Bravery, presented by the National Police Association. While serving as a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper, Adams negotiated the release of five medical employees who had been taken hostage by an armed assailant at John J. Pershing Veterans Hospital in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.
• Veterans Park, Sikeston, Missouri: 10:30 a.m. Monday. Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Cassie Strom will speak. She was the first female of the Air Force to attain the rank of major general in the Judge Advocate Corps.
• Missouri's National Veterans Memorial, Perryville: 2 p.m. Monday. An Honor Guard will present the colors and lay a wreath at the memorial during a ceremony honoring veterans who have lost their lives.