Despite gray skies and steady rain, hundreds gathered in Port Washington to honor fallen service members during the community’s annual Memorial Day parade and ceremony at the bandshell in Sunset Park on Monday, May 25.
The parade began at Paul D. Schreiber High School on Campus Drive before proceeding down Main Street and ending at the Town Dock, where a memorial ceremony was held at the John Philip Sousa Memorial Bandshell. The parade was led by American Legion Post 509 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Henderson-Marino Post 1819.
“Somebody had some kind of pull up there, stopped raining,” joked Fred Falconer, commander of American Legion Post 509 and master of ceremonies, as the event began.
Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, Port Washington Schreiber High School cheerleaders, local police departments and area fire departments marched in the parade alongside veterans groups and community organizations.
The ceremony opened with tributes to veterans and volunteers who helped place more than 700 American flags at Nassau Knolls Cemetery on Sunday, May 24, despite heavy rain.
“I want to thank every single person that showed up yesterday in the pouring rain,” Falconer said. “Members of our post, scout troops, neighbors and friends, everybody that showed up, it was absolutely unbelievable.”
Patriotic displays lined Main Street, where newly installed American flags and more than 100 hometown military banners hung from utility poles. Falconer credited the Port Washington Fire Department for installing the flags for the past 25 years, while the hometown banner program was spearheaded by local volunteer Ken Kraft.
The solemn ceremony honored the estimated 1.4 million American service members who died defending the country. Robert Freeland of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1819 welcomed attendees and called for prayers for peace “in this time of trouble.”
The invocation was delivered by Port Washington Fire Department Chaplain Robert Pape, who urged the community to remember “the brave men and women who have given their lives so that we may enjoy liberty, justice and peace.”
This year’s grand marshals were World War II Navy veteran Pauline Dobish and Army veteran John Lalena.
Source: LI Press
