BANGOR — Retired Maj. Gen. Nelson E. Durgin will be the speaker during the Memorial Day Program at 1 p.m. Monday, May 25, at Cole Land Transportation Museum, 405 Perry Road.
Durgin, an Oxford native and longtime resident of Bangor, is a veteran of more than 30 years in the Maine Air National Guard and served as adjutant general and commissioner of the Department of Defense, Veteran Services and Emergency Management, 1991-1995.
He is serving his second term as mayor and chairman of the Bangor City Council. Retired as executive director of Phillips-Strickland House, Durgin and wife Carla Durgin were recipients of the Distinguished Citizen Awards from Katahdin Area Council Boy Scouts of America in 2012.
The afternoon program at the museum will begin at noon with a patriotic concert by Old Town High School Band, with the band boosters on hand to sell lunch items to raise money for the band.
Many of those attending on Monday will begin their day by participating in or watching the Memorial Day Parade, which will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the junction of State and Exchange streets in Bangor.
Volunteers from Cole Land Transportation Museum will be available beginning 9 a.m. that day at the undercover entrance to The First Bank at 145 Exchange St. to apply the 2015 reflective sticker to walking sticks of World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War and Global War on Terror veterans and military personnel who bring them before marching or riding on Cyr buses in the parade.
The half-mile parade will go up Main Street to Davenport Park at the corner of Main and Cedar streets.
Free parking during the parade will be available at Penobscot Plaza on Washington Street, in the city parking garage on Water Street and in the Career Center parking lot on Oak Street.
Walking sticks are available free to Maine veterans who served in one of the four war eras. Those eligible should bring proof of ID and their DD-214 or military ID 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily to Cole Land Transportation Museum.
When the museum begins its Memorial Day program at noon Monday, Old Town High band boosters will sell hot dogs, hamburgers, soda and whoopie pies.
Veterans attending with their walking stick will receive a free hot dog or hamburger and soda. Children attending the program will receive a free keepsake American flag with base. Activities will conclude by 2 p.m., and those attending may visit the museum free of charge after the program.
For information on Memorial Day activities at Cole Land Transportation Museum, call 990-3600, ext. 13. The museum is looking for new volunteers — both veterans and non-veterans — to serve as tour guides, visitor guides, cashiers and ambassadors of patriotism who are interviewed by students.