PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Doylestown is gearing up for tomorrow’s holiday celebration featuring the oldest Memorial Day parade in the country and a service remembering the members of the military who gave their lives fighting for our freedom.

The parade dates back 145 years; older by one year than the parades in Brooklyn, New York and Ironton, Ohio.

The parade steps off at 10 a.m. from CB West High School and winds its way a mile and a half through the borough to the Doylestown Cemetery where parade organizer Marine Sergeant Jim McComb says veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country will be honored.

“That’s the real part of Memorial Day,” says McComb. “The parade is entertainment. It’s nice and the guys we’re honoring would want the crowd to be entertained, but the real reason for Memorial Day is back at the cemetery.”

The parade will of course feature veterans from World War II right up through the global war on terrorism. There will also be community groups, marching bands and entertainment for the entire family.

Reported by Brad Segall, KYW Newsradio