They'll carry the flags with a strong sense of pride and dignity, fully aware of the honor that's been bestowed upon them.

On a day certain to brim with patriotic bliss, Palmerton's Memorial Day Parade will once again be the highlight attraction in the downtown area.The parade will start at 10 a.m. Monday. There will be four guest speakers; a World War II veteran, Korean War veteran, Vietnam veteran, and a present day serviceperson.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.Sponsored by the United Veteran's Organization of Palmerton, which is comprised of American Legion Post 269 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7134, the parade will stop to place the wreath at the monument on Delaware Avenue.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.Brownie scout Kaja German will serve as Miss Poppy, while Cub Scout Zachary Reif will serve as Legion Mascot.Kaja is daughter of David and Lindsay German of Palmerton. Zachary is the son of Eric and Elizabeth Reif of Palmerton.Parade participants will include members of the Legion, VFW, veterans, area Cub Scouts, boy scouts, girls scouts, fire companies, ambulance and EMS personnel.Services will be held immediately after the parade in the borough park. Those who do not wish to be in the parade can meet in the park.In case of rain, the services will be inside the S.S. Palmer Elementary School adjacent to the park. In the event of rain, those who will participate should be on hand by 9:30 a.m.Susie Arner, parade chairperson, said that while the parade may be a little lean on participants, that won't take away from its purpose."Unfortunately, the parade is small, however the meaning behind it is greater than anyone realizes," Arner said. "Hopefully we have great weather and we see lot of people on the streets and in the park to support Memorial Day."On a side note, the Palmerton United Veteran's Organization is building a Memorial to honor all of the Palmerton Area servicemen and women and are in need of help to retrieve veterans' names.The primary site for the memorial appears to be the lower southwest corner of the borough park, where the present flagpole is located.Any person that served or is serving their country from the Palmerton Area will have their name placed upon the Memorial. That includes persons from the Revolutionary Era to the present, a span of over 230 years.Information needed are names, branch of service, dates of service, rank, and date of birth, and may be sent to Palmerton Legion or Palmerton VFW, P.O. Box 84 2020 Forest Inn Rd. Palmerton, Pa. 18071You may call or email Joe at 610-826-2902,

onlyelvs@ptd.net, or Ed at 610-504-6680,

tecked@ptd.net, with information or for more information.In addition, flag pins will be sold, and all donations will be put toward fundraising for the new memorial. There will be more information at the memorial service concerning the memorial.Any one with suggestions or those who would like to participate may contact Arner at (610) 826-7515.