Patriotic events scheduled for Memorial Day weekend

Editor's note: This story has been edited to reflect the correct day of the week for one of the Cape Girardeau events.

Anyone who plans to enjoy Memorial Day weekend events in Cape Girardeau should plan on an early start.

Memorial Day at Fort D Historic Site at Fort and Locust streets begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The celebration includes rifle and cannon fire by local re-enactors and honors U.S. soldiers who have died in military service.

The Memorial Day Service sponsored by Cape Girardeau's Joint Veterans Council at the Osage Centre begins at 10:30 a.m. Monday with a performance by the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band. Guest speaker for the event is former Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney Larry H. Ferrell, who visited Iraq on twice as justice attache to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to help prosecutors prepare evidence for war crimes, including the trial of deposed leader Saddam Hussein.

Jackson festivities also will have an early start. The Memorial Day Service, sponsored by the American Legion Post 158 of Jackson, begins at 9 a.m. Monday at the entrance of the Jackson City Cemetery with patriotic music from the Jackson Municipal Band. Sheryl Robertson Smith -- 14th District Commander for the American Legion Department of Missouri, retired member of the U.S. Navy and retired local educator -- is the guest speaker.

Travelers also will be out in full force along Highway 25 perusing tables during the 100-Mile Yard Sale. The event starts in Kennett, Missouri, and ends in Jackson. The Missouri Department of Transportation warns drivers to slow down and be aware of their surroundings as they make their way through crowded stretches of the highway this weekend.

Pertinent address:

920 Fort St., Cape Girardeau, Mo

1625 N. Kingshighway St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

South High Street and West Madison Street, Jackson, Mo.