Lowcountry Veterans Day calendar

Following are 2009 Veterans Day events and remembrances:

TODAY

CHARLESTON: The annual Veterans Day parade through downtown Charleston begins at 2 p.m. at Concord and Market streets, running west on Market Street to East Bay Street, then to Broad Street and finishing at Colonial Lake.

The parade will include the traditional C-17 fly-over, multiple marching bands, motorcycle groups, floats and veterans service organizations. There also will be a contingent of British Royal Navy officers who served in World War II.

The parade is sponsored by the Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Parking will be restricted on North Market and East Bay to Concord only beginning that morning. Although cars are allowed to park along the route, movement will be restricted once the event begins.

The route will be reopened as the event passes by. All streets are expected to be reopened by 4 p.m.

WEDNESDAY

NORTH CHARLESTON: The city will hold its eighth annual "Tribute to our Veterans" 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Greater Charleston Naval Base Memorial at Riverfront Park.

All veterans taking part in the ceremony will receive special recognition for their service.

The guest speaker will be retired Marine Col. Robert J. Mastrion. For administrative purposes, veterans are encouraged to RSVP to the North Charleston Parks & Recreation Department by phone at 745-1028.

NECK AREA: A Veterans Day service will honor Henry Benjamin Noisette, a Navy veteran of the Civil War who escaped slavery and served aboard the Union gunboat Huron.

The ceremony will start at 11 a.m. at the cemetery he founded, Friendly Charitable Cemetery, at Oceanic and Mechanic streets in Charleston. Honored guests include his great-great-grandchildren.

Sponsors and co-sponsors include the African-American Historical Alliance of South Carolina and other local historical groups. A luncheon will follow.

TRIDENT TECHNICAL COLLEGE: At 10 a.m. at the Main Campus' College Center (Building 920), 7000 Rivers Ave., North Charleston. The program will include posting of the nation's colors by the Washington Light Infantry.

The guest speaker is Brig. Gen. Henry I. Siegling, commander of the Washington Light Infantry.

SUMMERVILLE : The Disabled American Veterans of Summerville is having a remembrance ceremony at 10:30 a.m. at the Veterans War Memorial on the grounds of the Dorchester County Services Building (U.S. Highway 78 and Main Street). The guest speaker is former Citadel president Lt. Gen. Claudius "Bud" Watts III.

The chiming of the tolls and placing of the wreath will conclude the ceremony.

The VFW Post 3433 Ladies Auxiliary will host a reception at the VFW Post on Bellwright Road immediately following the ceremony.

--The Cypress House assisted living home at 205 Midland Parkway is having an American Legion Post Veterans Day in recognition of its veteran- residents and a ceremony. The start time is 2 p.m.

--The Village at Summerville retirement community is hosting a "Salute to the Veterans" and is inviting veterans of all ages to participate or attend. The event begins at 3 p.m. with a parade on the 36-acre campus.

The NJROTC Color Guard from Summerville High School will lead the parade, followed by retired Lt. Gen. Colby M. Broadwater III, the former chief of staff, U.S. European Command, who will be the keynote speaker for the celebration.

The Village at Summerville is at 201 W. 9th North St.

CHARLESTON: The nonprofit group Anchors Away is developing a program aimed at serving military veterans with disabilities. A kickoff fundraiser event will be held at the Charleston Yacht Club 5:30-7:30 p.m. Anchors Away, established through the Medical University of South Carolina, is dedicated to getting people with disabilities out on the water. For more information, call Anthony L. Arrow at 408-3424. www.anchorsawayprogram.org.

The American Military Museum: The museum is dedicating an artist-created stained-glass window pane depicting a Purple Heart medal for the museum chapel. Dedication time is 4 p.m. The event is free, and there is no charge for any veteran on Veterans Day. A representative from the Purple Heart Society will give a short talk followed by the dedication.

The museum, a nonprofit sponsored by a group of veterans, is at 360 Concord St., Charleston, adjacent to the S.C. Aquarium and the Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center.

PATRIOTS POINT: At 2 p.m., the state commander of the Swamp Fox chapter of WWII Submarine Veterans will dedicate a new World War II Submarine Memorial at the Cold War Submarine Memorial.

FRANCIS MARION NATIONAL FOREST/SUMTER NATIONAL FOREST: Fees charged at most recreation sites and trails will be waived on Veterans Day. The forests' lands stretch across South Carolina from Walhalla to McClellanville.