Westbury and Carle Place held parades honoring fallen combat veterans on Monday, May 26. Westbury’s ceremonies, however, continued after the street festivities.
Westbury was home to two Tuskegee Airmen, the country’s first Black military pilots, Lt. Douglas H. McQuillan Sr. and Lt. Colonel Spann Watson. Both flew and fought in World War II.
Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallaro said the village wanted to ensure their legacy was preserved by memorializing them with a plaque and informational postings in the village’s military historical collection, located at the Corporal James F. Walsh VFW Post 945.
“We’ve been aware of the fact that we had them in the community for a long time,” Cavallaro said. “We thought Memorial Day was a good day to honor them, because it celebrates people who died who served.
“We’re called to remember them by action. So this is an action to remember the people who have served our country over the years,” he added. “It’s a special kind of service that they gave, so we wanted to honor them for that reason.”
The Tuskegee Airmen provided critical contributions to the U.S. military during World War II, despite facing extreme racism in their ranks. Families of both honored airmen, along with dozens of community members and elected officials, packed the collection room to hear speeches about both men and the country’s history.
“It hits you really deep in terms of that recognition and this whole ceremony, this dedication, is just another way of continuing the Tuskegee Airman legacy,” said Douglas McQuillan, who is McQuillan Sr’s son. “It’s events such as this dedication that help to nurture that history and to move it forward to other generations.”
“It’s important to recognize that because it’s our history collectively as Americans whatever race you are, whatever color, religion and so on,” McQuillan continued. “It’s part of American history. Some people may think, ‘Oh, it’s just a Black thing, or it’s just an African American thing.’ But it’s still a part of our collective history, all of America.”
Spann Watson, son of Lt. Colonel Spann Watson, said it was important to him in the plaque dedication that the younger members of the family would be able to see their grandfather or great-grandfather’s name up on the wall.
“It means so much to me that my children and my grandchildren will see it. That’s what’s important to me,” Watson said. “They need to know where they came from. They need to know what they can be.”
Local politicians, including North Hempstead Council Member Robert Troiano, North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jen DeSena, state Sen. Siela A. Bynoe and U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, attended the ceremony to honor the village’s history.
Suozzi said he had arranged for flags to be flown in the U.S. Capitol to honor the local veterans and Cavallaro emphasized the importance of remembering their service in the village.
“We have an extremely diverse community, and we celebrate the diversity of the community in a lot of different ways,” Cavallaro said. “This building was built by mostly white and this post was populated by mostly white service members. But we had other members in the community who served in their armed forces. [These two are] an integral part of that. They belong on the wall.”
In the morning, before Westbury’s ceremony, hundreds filled the streets of Westbury Avenue as Carle Place held its annual Memorial Day parade.
From the fire department to Cub Scouts to local businesses, the event saw the entire community come together in order to pay respects to the many who lost their lives while serving the country.
The event was spearheaded by the local American Legion, a wartime veterans and servicemen organization. Several veterans stood at the front of the ceremony while local coaches and a pastor gave remarks, speaking on the strength and respect this community has for veterans, who one speaker called real-life heroes.
Among those heavily involved with the parade was the Carle Place Fire Department. Its trucks drove down the street decorated with “County Champs” and other team affirmations, which the Carle Place varsity baseball and softball teams rode upon.
The parade ended with a ceremony in Carle Place Memorial Park.
