KENNEBUNK – Organizers say the public is welcome to a ceremony in Kennebunk set for 7 a.m. Monday, May 31, to commemorate Memorial Day.

The ceremony honoring sailors and marines will take place on the Mousam River Bridge on Route 1, said Brian McBride of Webber-Lefebvre Post 74, American Legion.

From there, the procession moves to the community’s cemeteries and memorials, including Mount Pleasant Cemetery, the memorial at Kennebunk High School, Pine Grove Cemetery in West Kennebunk, memorials in Centennial Park and Washington Park and Hope Cemetery, Evergreen Cemetery and Home Cemetery.

Veterans and all are invited to participate, said McBride.

The first national celebration of Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, took place May 30, 1868, at Arlington National Cemetery, and became an official federal holiday in 1971.

Originally marking those who perished in the U.S. Civil War, which ended in 1865, Memorial Day now commemorates the deaths of those who perished in all wars.