Every day, Mike Solwold puts on a uniform to serve and protect the community he lives in.

On Memorial Day, the Oxford Village police chief will put on that uniform and honor all those American military men and women who paid the ultimate price on battlefields, both foreign and domestic.

Solwold will be the guest speaker at this year’s ceremony in downtown’s Centennial Park on Monday, May 28.

The event begins at 10 a.m.

“It’s an honor to be able to stand up there and (recognize) veterans for their sacrifices,” Solwold said. “If it wasn’t for them and the sacrifices they made, we wouldn’t be doing the things that we’re doing today – we wouldn’t have the rights that we have today. I think a lot of people need to take a step back and realize that.”

Although the chief himself never served, his grandfather, father and brother all answered duty’s call over the years.

“Our family has a great history in the military,” he said.

Solwold’s grandfather, Percy, served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1946. His father, Dale, was in the U.S. Army in the 1970s and his brother, Robert, served in the Army during the early 1980s.

Solwold wanted to enlist in the Army and become a military police officer, but an injury prevented that from happening.

“That was definitely an avenue I wanted to take, but unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to,” he said.

The chief’s favorite part of Oxford’s Memorial Day observance is shaking hands with the veterans, expressing his gratitude to them and listening to their tales.

“That’s the joy I get out of it,” Solwold said. “Those guys have sacrificed a lot for us and they want to talk about it. Let them tell their stories. They’re fascinating. It’s like a history lesson.”

The ceremony in Centennial Park will include speeches, prayers, the laying of wreaths and the placing of dog tags on white crosses representing all the local sons killed in conflicts ranging from the Civil War to the Vietnam War.

Following the ceremony, the Memorial Day parade will head north along S. Washington (M-24) St., then proceed west on W. Burdick St.

It will end at Ridgelawn Memorial Cemetery located on the north side of W. Burdick St., just west of the Polly Ann Trail.

The cemetery ceremony will include prayers, the placement of a wreath, the playing of “Taps” and a 21-gun salute.