Community Corner
Memorial Day Parade Honors Past And Current Members Of The Armed Forces
Annual parade's route goes through Pelham Manor and Pelham Village to celebrate Memorial Day.
Scores of people gathered in downtown Pelham on Monday to attend the annual Memorial Day parade.
Despite early morning thunderstorms, by 11:30 a.m. sirens were blaring, five different marching bands had struck up their numbers, and the parade was on its way to downtown Pelham. The route started near the Manor Club and continued down Esplanade Avenue until Wolf’s Lane, where it turned right to head downtown. The procession followed Wolf’s Lane/ Fifth Avenue until it reached the Veteran’s Memorial next to Town Hall.
People were lined up all along the parade route. Families gathered to show their support for those who have served or are still serving in our country’s armed forces.
Find out what's happening in Pelhamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
One such Pelham resident, Jeanne Hertzog, has been watching the parade ever since she moved to Pelham in 1963. Hertzog, whose son served in the military, said parades such as this one are crucial to building a sense of community in Pelham and to showing respect to those who have fought for us.
“Absolutely essential, I also feel it is very important for us to support the troops,” she said. “People should be here, and I think we should be singing the Star Spangled Banner.”
Find out what's happening in Pelhamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Another Pelham resident, Mike Disciullo, spoke of the fellowship experienced during the parade.
“It bonds the young and the old on days like this,“ he said.
Leading the parade were the grand marshals: Pelham’s own veterans who have served in a wide range of conflicts from World War II to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Not all members of the parade were members of the armed forces. Members of the town’s government, Pelham police and fire departments, Boy and Girl Scouts of all ages, Daughters of the American Revolution, The Pelham Civic Association, The Junior League, Wisdom Way Martial Arts, and five separate marching bands all participated.
At the end of the parade a moving ceremony took place to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to their country in their respective tours of duty and those who died in the Sept. 11 attacks. Members of the armed forces spoke to the crowd and were followed by the keynote speaker Col. Licameli, a professor at West Point.
The ceremony ended with a live rifle salute and the playing of “Taps.”
