Organizers of this coming Tuesday’s Veterans Day Celebration hope the event will have a wide-reaching impact not only within the Wareham community, but to those surrounding it.

Bob White, co-chair of the Wareham Veterans Council, said he has three main goals for the celebration, which includes a parade down Main Street, a memorial ceremony at Town Hall, and a Veterans Luncheon at the Multi-Service Center.

Firstly, White would like to see the event become a three town event of sorts, with the inclusion of both Bourne and Marion. Secondly, he wants more younger people to get involved. And lastly, he hopes more members of the community become active, and not just veterans.

“This is a community celebration, not just a Veterans Day Celebration,” said White Tuesday morning as he and others met to put some last-minute planning together for the event.

Paul Geigle, a Vietnam veteran with the Navy, said by including other towns—which the committee has done—it provides a backup plan for towns whose similar celebrations fall by the wayside.

“This would be a failsafe for it fizzling out like some other towns,” said Geigle, who recently joined White on the committee, which previously consisted of him and its other co-chair, Sharon Boyer. “Some towns just let it go. There are no parades, no celebrations. How sad is that? I wouldn’t want to see that happen in Wareham.”

White said that in the past, Wareham, Bourne, and Marion had joined forces for a similar celebration, but currently, Marion has its own event.

“I’m sure it detracts from their ability to join (in Wareham’s event),” he said. “It was once a tri-town exercise.”

Several groups from Bourne, including the Bourne High School Marching Band and the Massachusetts Army National Guard 379th Engineer Company out of Buzzards Bay, will take part in the parade/celebration, and White said he expects members of the Bourne’s Board of Selectmen to attend the event as well.

As for getting younger members involved, White said it’s been difficult, partially because the sense of patriotism and pride has been lost on the current generation, despite the fact that America has been at war in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Geigle said that a lot of veterans both young and old don’t feel comfortable displaying their status as veterans because of a negative stigma that sometimes comes with fighting in wars.

“We want to make them feel comfortable,” he said.

He said that often times, he was reluctant to wear clothing that displayed his past military service, but after being approached and thanked by the son of a World War II vet, he changed his tune.

“It makes you feel good,” he said.

White said there is still a need for involvement—both through volunteering, donations, and/or attendance—to assure that the celebration goes off without a hitch. He said that the Community Economic Development Authority was able to provide over $2,000 for the Veterans Luncheon, which feeds veterans following the parade and ceremony, but that there’s still a need for more people to become involved.

“This is a community celebration and an opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to a veteran,” said White. “You can carry a flag in the parade, you can be there at the ceremony, and you can walk up to a veteran and give them a hug.”

The parade starts at Besse Park on Nov. 11 at 10:30, and finishes at Town Hall, where the memorial ceremony will take place with the luncheon to follow.

The Wareham Village Association will also be holding a cleanup session along Main Street from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 9 in preparation of the parade. Volunteers should bring their own gloves, bags and rakes.

Anyone interested in volunteering or donating can contact Bob White at 508-274-4963 or at wrcw@verizon.net. Donations can be dropped off at the rear entrance of the Multi-Service Center after 7 a.m. on Nov. 11.

In the case of inclement weather, the memorial ceremony will be moved inside to a to-be-determined location.