Memorial Day celebrations set for area

A veteran who served in two wars and worked with nuclear bombs during his time with the Air Force will speak Memorial Day during a ceremony in Poplar Bluff.

Activities to celebrate and honor members of the Armed Forces have been scheduled both in Poplar Bluff and at the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield.

Earl Pennington of Poplar Bluff served as a flight engineer in Korea, hauled nuclear bombs for Strategic Air Command and later served in Vietnam toward the end of his military career.

He will be the keynote speaker during a ceremony Monday at the Veterans Wall at the Black River Coliseum. The ceremony begins at 11 a.m. and is hosted by the Poplar Bluff Veterans Council.

A ceremony will also be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in the veterans section of the Poplar Bluff City Cemetery. Members of the American Legion Brown-Mabry Unit 153 and others will place flags on veterans graves.

Also scheduled for Monday is a program at 1 p.m. at the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield. It will be held in the Committal Shelter Plaza on the cemetery grounds.

Retired Army Lt. Colonel Bob Thrower will be the keynote speaker.

Thrower is a native of Dexter and was commissioned into the United States Army in 1987. He spent 20 years on active duty, retiring in 2008. Thrower also spent two years in the Missouri Army National Guard.