By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor

The flags are being being unfurled and last minute preparations completed as Dexter citizens prepare to honor on Friday members of "the greatest generation" - veterans of World War II.

The Honor Tour organization will gather Friday morning and depart on another tour of Washington, D.C. with 30 veterans of World War II. The departure ceremony honoring these veterans and their colleagues will be held at 8:30 a.m., Friday, at the Bearcat Event Center on Grant Street in Dexter."

Three Dexter men are a part of this Honor Tour journey - Chet Medler, Joe Hutchason and Russell Orville. A total of 30 men from Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, and California will make the journey.

The 30 men on the tour will be recognized prior to their official departure on the tour. The tour is sponsored by the Honor Tour group and coordinated by Rob Callahan.

Students from all four Dexter schools will be attending the departure ceremony, with several high school students - including the Honors Choir and Jazz Band - participating.

"My hope is that the community will come and be a part of this ceremony,” said Dr. Roger Alsup, principal at Dexter’s T.S. Hill Middle School. He has chaired the community planning committee for Friday’s event.

A number of special displays will be featured both outside the BEC and inside for the public to view.

The bus with the veterans will leave Poplar Bluff early Friday morning and will arrive in Dexter by 7:30 a.m. The motorcade will enter the city at the Route AD exit off Highway 60, and will follow Business 60 to One Mile Road and the BEC. City crews will line the route with American flags.

Following the departure from the BEC, the motorcade will travel east on Grant Street to Catalpa, and then turn east onto Stoddard Street.

Event organizers encourage groups, businesses and individuals unable to attend the ceremony to line Stoddard Street from Catalpa to the Dexter City Administration Building as a tribute to the veterans. Boy Scout Troop 200 will post the American flags along the part of the motorcade, and individuals on the route are encouraged to have flags.

When: Friday, April 29
Time: 8:30 a.m.
Where: Bearcat Event Center on Grant Street