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...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT /8 PM EDT/
FRIDAY...

* WHAT...Daily heat index values up to 106.

* WHERE...All of southern Illinois, southwest Indiana, western
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* WHEN...Until 7 PM CDT /8 PM EDT/ Friday.

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may cause heat illnesses.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of
the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.

Take extra precautions when outside. Wear lightweight and loose
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&&

Marion VFW holds Memorial Day ceremony

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By Jon Okerstrom

MARION (WSIL) — Marion VFW Post 1301 held a Memorial Day Ceremony honoring those who lost their lives while protecting our country. 

The ceremony opened with remarks from the post’s commander Bill Rice about the meaning of the holiday, "Those who fought for and maintained our freedom." 

More than 50 people gathered at Rose Hill Cemetery to pay their respects. Among those in attendance were city officials such as Mayor Mike Absher. 

Absher says he believes younger generations need to be taught about the sacrifices that military members make, "As a community we need to teach our children and our grandchildren about these selfless individuals."

Several local veterans took part in the ceremony. One of those was Greg Strong, who served in the Army National Guard. 

He laid a flower for those who passed away while fighting in Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom including 16 fallen soldiers that he personally knew during his 24 years of service.

"To know them and to relive that and do it in their honor, is very heartwarming to me," Strong said. 

Marine Mike Gunter also did something special this year: he read cards left at the Vietnam Wall from family and friends who lost a loved one.

"You will grow old with me, for you were and will always be a part of my life," he read out loud from one letter. "And our memories do not dim with the passing." 

Gunter says he chose those letters because others at the wall would have been too tough to read, "Those that I did read were painful. But some of them, I just basically, I just didn’t think that I could get through." 

And at the end of the ceremony, veterans took part in a volley of gunshots. The ceremony also marked 100 years since the dedication of the Goddard Chapel on Memorial Day 1919.

Leroy Goddard donated $20,000  for the building’s supplies, labor and architect.  At the time, he lived in Chicago and worked as a banker, but he was born in Marion and even served as the city’s mayor. 

The chapel serves as a memorial for World War I service members.