The last Monday of May is right around the corner, and that means Memorial Day — the national holiday created to honor those who died in service of our country — will take place on Monday, May 27.

Memorial Day was officially established by Congress in 1971, but it was traditionally recognized for decades prior to the passage of the federal law as Decoration Day.

“This has always been a day to honor and remember those who never made it back home,” Sandra Thompson, director of the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives, said. “They are the ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice to preserve all of our freedom in the United States.”

The Veterans Museum and Archives will host a Memorial Day Observance program on May 27, to commemorate the lives of fallen military personnel. The event is set to start at 11 a.m. and the keynote speaker of the program is Phillip W. Williams Jr., Colonel (R).

“We will do a laying of wreaths, as well as calling out the names of the deceased veterans from last year,” Thompson said.

Prior to Monday, Balanced Bootcamp at the Athens Recreation Center will hold its annual Memorial Day Murph on Friday, May 24, at 8:30 a.m.

The event, which has challenged local military, police and firefighters, is a physical and mental endurance test to honor the sacrifice of Lt. Michael P. Murphy. Participants of the event will have to complete a one-mile run, followed by 100 sit ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats and another one-mile run.

In Athens, according to city officials, all city offices will be closed for the day on Monday in observance of the federal holiday. The closure will include City Hall and the City Clerk, but the sanitation department will still run as scheduled, so have your trash bins by the curb by 6 a.m. The News Courier office will also be closed Monday.