Ceremony honors those who died serving their country
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. » The streets of downtown Ballston Spa were filled Saturday as spectators kicked off Memorial Day weekend by watching the village’s annual Memorial Day parade.
The parade stepped off from the Ocean State Job Lot parking lot onto Doubleday Avenue and then continued to Milton Avenue, and then to Front Street as hundreds of community members stood alongside the streets cheering and watching.
For a second straight year, Judd Krier was honored as the parade’s Grand Marshal.
Krier is originally from Pennsylvania and is currently active duty military. His last command prior to coming to Ballston Spa was at USS Pearl Harbor in San Diego. Krier said once he finished his command in San Diego, he then received orders to be the commanding officer of the Naval Nuclear Power Training Unit in Ballston Spa.
“It feels great [ being the Grand Marshal again], it’s a great honor to come out and be invited back to do this again,” said Krier. “It’s a great opportunity to inter- act with the local community and we have probably 250 sailors here this year and to be in this local parade is just great.”
During the final ceremony after the parade, members of the local Boy Scout troop read off the names of veterans from Ballston Spa who gave the ultimate sacrifice during war.
Krier also greeted community members during the ceremony and discussed the importance of Memorial Day weekend.
“I would ask you to take the time — and not just on Memorial Day, but every day — and take a moment to say thank you to our fallen; for those who never left the battlefields, for those who never came home from sea, we must hold them up in our hometowns and in our memories,” said Krier. “We should spend time reflecting on their service and their sacrifice and live in gratitude each and every day for the precious gift that they have given to us and we must ensure that we pass on the precious gift of freedom to our children and to our grandchildren, we must teach them the values and responsibilities that accompany the gift of freedom — that freedom itself is not free and to always remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.”