Hundreds turned out for New Hyde Park, Floral Park and Garden City Park’s parades across the holiday weekend.
The Village of New Hyde Park kicked off its Memorial Day weekend commemoration on Saturday, May 24, with a parade and honors for those who died in combat.
The parade kicked off southbound on Hillside Boulevard before making its way to the Village Hall. The building was decked out in red, white and blue with a ceremony honoring those who have fought for the country.
The parade then continued to Memorial Park, which is where the village’s military memorial is located. Local leaders spoke on the importance of the day and what it means to celebrate it every year.
“They gave up their tomorrow, so we can have today,” state Assembly Member Ed Ra said.
“It is incredibly important that we teach our youngsters, our Boy Scouts, our band members, our children what today [Memorial Day] means,” state Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick said.
New Hyde Park Village Mayor Christopher Devane said his uncle was killed during World War II.
He said that this is the first year that Memorial Day is celebrated in the village with the monument, which was constructed with the help of local Boy Scouts. It features the names of three soldiers who died during World War I, 36 from World War II, three from the Korean War and 15 from the Vietnam War, making 57 New Hyde Park residents who lost their lives in combat.
“We have their names there on a plaque in the service that they gave to the country,” Devane said. “These people are so much more than that. They are sons, nephews. They died for us, for what the flag means, for what our country means.”
A few days later, on Memorial Day morning, Garden City Park locals came together from their own celebration.
Blaring fire truck and ambulance alarms, local organizations walking in unison, anthems from a school marching band and a miniature tank named Calamity Jane traversing the streets of Garden City Park for the morning.
The ceremony began the day in front of Garden City Park Elementary School, with local veterans standing tall in the center and residents taking moments of silence to take in the tone of remembrance as the anthem played through a speaker despite some technical issues.
From there, everyone set off down Central Avenue with residents who were walking in the parade, dashing to the watchers to pass out small flags.
Floral Park also honored their local fallen soldiers on Monday. Residents and organizations took to the streets, first for a parade and then a ceremony.
The event saw groups such as the Floral Park Fire Department, Boy and Girl Scouts, local citizens, veterans from the American Legion, and others come together to walk down Tulip Ave. holding the American flag tall.
“It’s really all about just remembering the men and women who have given their lives in the service of our nation,” explained Matt Cacciatore, the American Legion member who organized the event. “That’s really what the day is all about. We try to stick to that. I think it’s the right thing to do.”
The parade made its way down Tulip Avene and ended at a local veterans’ memorial plaza, where a ceremony was held. The precession saw the mayor of Floral Park, Kevin Fitzgerald, give a speech reminding the crowd that the heroes who died in action were serving not one side of the country but a whole united one. The guest of honor and grand marshal for the day was a 99-year-old combat veteran from WWII.
At the end, flower bouquets, provided by the Floral Park Women’s Club, were given out to Gold Star Families who lost a family member in combat.
“A lot of family members had family who served in wars like Iraq, Korea, WWII,” said Roy Menèdez, a retired active duty Navy Officer who served for 30 years. “This is what you do to remember their sacrifice.”
