Not long after sunrise, volunteers gathered in Oak Grove Cemetery in Vineyard Haven to help set up the Avenue of the Flags, commemorating those who served. Community members young and old helped prepare this final leg of the Memorial Day parade.

At 10 a.m. today the parade sets off from the American Legion Hall post 257 on Martin Road and heads to the cemetery, where the flags will be waiting, a reminder of battles and wars, past and present, fought not just by Islanders but by soldiers all over the world.

After the parade there will be the singing of the Star Spangled Banner, and Navy Reserve Commander Paul J. Brawley will be the featured speaker.

At noon the Tisbury town picnic begins at the Tisbury waterworks.