Several events honoring our fallen service members return to Wayne County this weekend.

Many Memorial Day Weekend activities had to be cancelled last year due to the pandemic.

But this year, Bill Graham, CEO of the Wayne County Veterans & Patriots Coalition, says they’re ready to pay the proper respect to the holiday.

He says they’ve had a lot of interest after last year’s events were mostly skipped due to safety precautions.

This year, Graham says the coalition is expecting to place over 5,000 flags on veteran graves in the area.

Here’s a list of the Memorial Day Weekend events honoring our fallen heroes:

• The American Legion Post 11 on Highway 117 will host a breakfast starting at 8 AM on Saturday.  At 9 AM, flags will be distributed to participants to take to area cemeteries to place on the graves of veterans. Anyone is welcome to attend the breakfast and then assist with the “Flags In” operation.
• The Wayne County Veterans & Patriots Coalition is also finalizing plans for the National Moment of Silence ceremony at the Veterans Memorial in Downtown Goldsboro on Monday from 2:45 – 3 PM. (Plans may change.)
• Employees of the Eastern Carolina Veterans Cemetery will place flags on graves Saturday morning.
• Also, American Legion Post 541 in Pikeville will be in the parking lot of John’s Pizza in Pikeville handing out poppies this week.  The post will also place flags on the veterans’ graves in Pikeville Cemetery on Friday, May 28, starting at 9 AM.  Everyone is welcome to participate.