David Patch, commander of American Legion Post 36, has announced that the annual Memorial Day Parade, with ceremonies held Southport, Boothbay Harbor and Boothbay, has been canceled.

“Following the directions of Governor Mills and local authorities, this year’s Memorial Day Parade has been canceled,” wrote Patch in his weekly column in this newspaper. “The American Legion will have a ceremonial team of nine members that will travel by car to each of the traditional memorials, with the addition of the memorial in Edgecomb, starting at Newagen and will follow the normal route, ending in Edgecomb. The team members will vary to include veterans with an affiliation with that location. The team will also have a chaplain and a bugler who will play Taps. Our fallen heroes will be respectfully remembered as they have been since 1868”

Patch said that this Saturday, flags will be placed at the various cemeteries around the region. While every effort will be made to place a flag at each of our veterans’ graves, it is inevitable we will miss a few. If anyone knows of a veteran marker that did not get a flag, please call the Hall (633-4487) and leave your name, number, the cemetery, name of the veteran, and the location in the cemetery.