It's a time to visit cemeteries and memorials, place flags on graves, and attend parades.

But, above all else, Memorial Day is a day to remember the brave men and women who died while serving our country.Such will be the case when the Palmerton United Veteran's Organization sponsors the annual Memorial Day Parade in Palmerton on Monday, May 27. The PUVO is comprised of American Legion Post 269 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7134.The parade will start at 10 a.m. at Second and Delaware Avenue. It will form at 9:30 a.m. at Dynamite Woodworking, at Second and Delaware Avenue. From there, it will continue on to Fifth and Delaware, where it will turn left at the former IGA Golden Key Market to Franklin Avenue, and then back to the park, where it will disband.There will be no parking on Delaware Avenue from Second Street East to Fifth Street, on Fifth Street between Delaware Avenue, and on the 400 block of Franklin Avenue from Fifth Street to Fourth Street from 8-11 a.m.Brianna Uhnak, 10, a fourth grade student, will serve as Miss Poppy. She is the daughter of Brian Uhnak and Tara Henry, and the granddaughter of Joe and Sue Uhnak, of Palmerton. Joe Uhnak is First Vice Commander, Palmerton American Legion.Nathan Taylor, 13, a seventh grade student at Palmerton Junior High School, will serve as the Legion Mascot. He is the son of Rich and Debbie Taylor, of Palmerton.The Legion Mascot and Miss Poppy will stop to place the wreath at the monument on Delaware Avenue, and at the Veteran's Memorial in the borough park in honor of all veterans.Parade participants will be local boy scouts, girl scouts, fire companies, and emergency services. The color guard will be members of Palmerton UVO.Services will be held immediately after the parade in the borough park. In case of rain, the services will be inside the S.S. Palmer Elementary School adjacent to the park. In case of inclement weather, the parade will not be held, and the services would be moved to the S.S. Palmer gymnasium at 11 a.m.The Main Speaker is goodwill Ambassador Richard Nothstein of Palmerton.Susie Arner, committee chair, said Nothstein, who also serves as a borough councilman, was chosen "because of his contribution to the [Veteran's] Memorial, and for being an ambassador to Carbon County veterans."Those who would like to obtain a poppy may do so at the services, as scouts in attendance will circulate with poppies and accept donations for them. The proceeds will go to the Palmerton American Legion for their projects.Arner said all veterans are welcome to march in the parade. Visitors are reminded to bring their chairs.Uhnak noted that Walters Monument Company, Summit Hill, said that due to a large influx of names received, names submitted for placement on the memorial wall, bricks and blocks will not be ready for inclusion in time for Memorial Day. The names should be ready for inclusion on the memorial by Veterans Day, Uhnak said.An information box complete with forms for names to go on the memorial wall, bricks and blocks, are available at the site, and may be filled out and sent in.There is no charge to have names put on the Memorial stones, said Uhnak, who added the deadline to have the names for the bricks and blocks on for this coming Veterans Day is Sept. 1.Uhnak said names on the walls and bricks that were initially missed, as well as any new names, will be added on the memorial stones in alphabetical order by Veterans Day.In addition, any names that were misspelled, or dates that are incorrect, are expected to be changed by then as well, Uhnak said.The Palmerton United Veterans Organization - which consists of the American Legion Post 269 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7134 - held the dedication of the Palmerton Veterans Memorial this past Veterans Day in the borough park.With permission from the borough, the PUVO decided to build the memorial in the park as a tribute to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and to those who served to preserve our freedom.The memorial is located on a section of land 40 feet by 60 feet in size in the lower southwest corner of the park, and includes a list of all veterans' names on granite monuments from all time periods of service.It includes names of veterans from the American Revolutionary era to the present, a span of over 230 years, who either entered the service while a resident of the Palmerton area, or who have lived in the area at least half of their adult life.To qualify, veterans need not have seen action in wartime. Peacetime veterans will also be honored.The centerpiece is a sculpture entitled "Some Gave All," and depicts a gun and helmet. James N. Muir of Sedona, Ariz., sculpted the top piece of the sculpture, which was donated by Nothstein.It is surrounded by a wide walkway and standing stones with the names of veterans. Those who were killed in action are named on the base of the sculpture.The memorial consists of 24 slabs of granite, and contains the names of 180 veterans per slab engraved on the granite. Walters Monument Company did the engraving of all the names on the pillars, bricks and blocks. Matt Lang, of Lang's Landscaping &Tree Service, Palmerton, laid all the bricks and blocks. Local contractor Todd Wentz did the cementing work and the laying of the base of the monument, and local contractor Brendan Ahner did the excavating work.