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MISSOULA- The annual Veterans Day ceremony, organized by American Legion Post 101 and Dan Gallagher, who has for many years led the annual ceremony will take place on the Missoula County Courthouse lawn at 11 a.m. on Friday.

The service will begin with a procession at the Doughboy World War I Statue at the corner of Ryman and Broadway in Missoula with a slow walk to the gazebo for the start of the program. The Color Guard members of the Veteran' Warrior Society of the Flathead Indian Reservation will also be part of the remembrance.

Missoula Major John Engen and Missoula County Commission Jean Curtiss will speak briefly about the significance of Veterans Day and flowers will be provided by the members of American Legion Post 101.

Organizers of Friday's event point out that members of National Guard, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy will all br honored during the ceremony.

Meanwhile, VFW Post and Auxiliary 209 and American Legion Post and Auxiliary 27 will host Veterans Day breakfasts at their headquarters for their members and veteran supporters and ask for a donation of any kind to cover the cost of food.

The University of Montana is playing host to a Veterans Day cookout that will take place at 11 a.m. on Friday at the VETS office which is located at 1000 East Beckwith Avenue. Veterans are being encouraged to share their stories at the event.

The Montana-based rock band, Marshall Catch are celebrating the release of their Patriotic single, The Ballad of the USS Arizona, with a special performance at the ceremonies commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor in Honolulu Hawaii this December.

A fundraiser concert for Marshall Catch to help raise funds so that the band is able to attend the Pearl Harbor 70th Anniversary Commemoration will take place on Veterans Day. The band will perform live and also auction of various.

The concert will take place of Friday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Elks Lodge on U.S. Highway 93 in Kalispell.

The Enduring Legacy - 70th Anniversary Pearl Harbor Commemoration will mark this important anniversary for our nation and Marshall Catch will be there to honor our World War II veterans and the life of the Battleship USS Arizona. The band offers a download of the song through iTunes with a portion of the proceeds to be donated to the Montana local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars

There are several Veterans Day events planned for the Bitterroot including at Stevensville School where the annual assembly will take place on Friday from 2:36 - 3:36 p.m. in the gym. Organizers are urging veterans to attend the ceremony so that they can be honored for their services.

Hamilton Elementary School is also planning to honor veterans with a ceremony that will start at 9:30 a.m. in the Daly Elementary School Gym. Veterans are being asked to arrive at around 9 a.m. so that they can be seated in the gym.

The Annual Veterans Day Observance and Exhibit will take place Friday at the Ravalli County Museum in Hamilton beginning at 2 p.m. at the Dough Boy statue in front of the Museum. The program begins with the laying of wreaths and then will move to the former courtroom of the Ravalli County Old Courthouse Museum including recollections of veterans, a tribute to the POW/MIA's, and music.

Valley Christian School in Missoula is hosting a Veterans Appreciation Program on Friday at 9 a.m. in the gymnasium and all area veterans ae invited to attend the event. This year's guest Speaker will be Vietnam combat veteran Terry Andreessen.

The annual Veterans Day Breakfast and Assembly will take place on Friday at Lone Rock School in Stevensville. There will be free breakfast offered for veterans beginning at 8 a.m. with table service being provided by area Boy Scouts. It will be followed by an assembly with music by Lone Rock students and a special guest speaker. That will begin at 9 a.m. and all local area veterans and their families are encouraged to attend the event.

The teenage cadets of Missoula's Civil Air Patrol squadron are also looking to honor veterans, but the group needs to find sponsors for holiday wreaths they wish to place on each veteran's headstone at the Fort Missoula and Western Montana Veterans cemeteries.

"During the holidays we want to remember the service these veterans gave to their country," said Cadet Major Chris Brault, the squadron's cadet commander.

A similar program at Arlington National Ceremony in our Nation's Capitol inspired the Missoula CAP cadets in 2008 to sponsor the two veterans cemeteries in Missoula.

"It is a big task," the squadron's senior commander, Lieutenant Colonel Pete Grafsaid, "and with only a few weeks to go, we don't want to come up short."

This is the fourth year the cadets have sought sponsors for the wreaths and over 500 vets are buried at the two Missoula cemeteries. Wreaths will be placed at both Missoula cemeteries on December 10th. Learn more about how you can help by clicking here.