It may be winter, still, but the plans for the 2012 edition of the Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade are heating up.

The parade theme this year is “For God And Country.” It was chosen by unanimous vote at the February parade committee meeting.

“Brent (her husband) and I were traveling once and we saw it on a building and I thought it would be perfect for the parade (theme),” committee member Lou Pyles said.

The rest of the committee must have thought so too.

The grand marshal this year is Rich Donahue; the parade commander is Brent Chamberlin.

The nation’s oldest, continuous Memorial Day Parade in the nation will be at 10 a.m. Monday, May 28. It draws an annual crowd of 25,000-30,000 people. Another 2,000 people march in the 12-division procession

The parade has a long and storied history.

In 1868, General John A. Logan, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, declared May 30, 1868, as Decoration Day. On that day, the citizens of Ironton upheld the order and included a parade in honor of the Civil War dead, as a part of the Decoration Day ceremonies.

Though originally established to commemorate those veterans who died during the Civil War, Decoration Day was eventually renamed Memorial Day, and today honors all those who have served and given their lives defending and protecting our Country’s freedom.

The parade committee meets the second Monday of the month at 7 p.m. at the VFW 8850 post home near South Third and Lorain streets. In April, meetings become weekly until the day of the parade. Applications are being accepted now for parade entries and may be obtained by writing to the committee at P.B. Box 721 Ironton, Ohio 45638. Entries must be received by May 4.