Memorial Day parade returns

PERKINS TWP. — The Sandusky Memorial Day Association in conjunction with the Ohio Veterans Home will celebrate Memorial Day — Monday, May 30 — beginning with a ceremony at 9 a.m. at the Ohio Veterans Home in front of the I. F. Mack Building. Immediately following the ceremony, the annual parade will occur down Milan Road (U.S. 250) and end at Oakland Cemetery. This year's grand marshal is Alan Lonz. A ceremony at Oakland Cemetery will commence after the parade has concluded, at approximately 10:30 a.m. The public is invited to attend all events. It'll be the first occurrence of this remembrance since 2019. Organizers canceled these festivities in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19-related concerns. Bio blast Lonz served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1967 to 1971. Lonz was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station, Beaufort, South Carolina, and Marine Corps Air Station, Iwakuni, Japan. He served in Chu Lai Vietnam from 1969 to 1970 with VMFA-314 Black Knights F-4 Phantom Marine Fighter Attacks Squadron and was credited with the Navy Presidential Unit Citation. Lonz graduated from Sandusky in 1965. He and his wife, Linda, are lifelong Sandusky residents. After his military service, Lonz worked for more than 28 years in the home building and construction fields. He attended Holy Angels Catholic Church where he served as president on the Holy Name Society for 30-plus years. Lonz is currently involved with many local veterans service organizations, including AMVETS Post 17, American Legion Post 83, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2529, Commander of the Catholic War Veterans Post 1905, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 49, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 774, adjutant/paymaster of the Marine Corps League Detachment 1192, trustee with the Firelands Military Vehicle Group, Erie County Veterans Memorial Park committee board member, treasurer of the Sandusky Memorial Day Parade Committee, chairman/treasurer of the Ohio Veterans Home Volunteer advisery committee, medical transportation driver with the Erie County Veterans Service office and a devoted Ohio Veterans Home volunteer for well over 25 years.