The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘We have much because they gave all’
Townsfolk honor residents who made ultimate sacrifice
CROMWELL — The town paid tribute Wednesday to those who left the comforts of home and family to fight in America’s wars, but died while doing so.
The World War I Memorial Green, the site of the ceremony marking Memorial Day, served as magnet to hundreds of residents.
They ranged from the very youngest who were carried in their parents’ arms to a 92-year-old World War II veteran, one of the last of the rapidly dwindling band of soldiers who fought and won what’s generally considered the most catastrophic war in human history.
Cromwell is one of the few remaining communities across the state that sticks to tradition and observes Memorial Day on May 30.
Richard Donohue, president of the Cromwell Historical Society, said the ceremony had an extra significance this year. Wednesday was the 150th anniversary of the first official celebration of Memorial Day, he said.
On that day in 1868, retired Union Gen. John A. Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal order of Union veterans, declared May 30 be “designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country.”
Adding to the significance of the ceremony, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the last year of World War I, the clash that marked the beginnings of modern warfare and whose results still impact the world.
Preparations for the event began in January, and were helped to completion Wednesday by the coach and members of the Cromwell High School football team, Parade Marshal Allan Waters said, who offered thanks to the players and coach.
The ceremony, which played out under a deep blue sky and low humidity, began with Donohue, with his deep, rich baritone voice, singing two stanzas of “The Star Spangled Banner” in a 19th-century manner.
In his invocation, the Rev. Douglas F. J. Van Veldhuisen set the tone when he said, “We have much because they gave all.”
Lou Gagnon, commander of American Legion Post 105, said it remains his enduring hope that civilization will “move closer to a time when is just a memory.”
In his remarks, Mayor Enzo Faienza sought to personalize the losses being remembered and honored. He read off a list of the 19 residents who died in the four major wars of the 20th century: the first (in which five local men died) and second (11) world wars, Korea (one) and Vietnam (two).
As he finished reading the toll of the dead, Faienza said, “This is what Memorial Day is about. And we must never forget them.”
The remarks of Cromwell High School senior Hannah Perry were especially well-received. She is one of the students who delivers the morning announcements over the school’s public address system. That includes her leading the school in the Pledge of Allegiance each morning, highlight of her day.
“I am just a student who is trying to ensure that my fellow students never forget” the men who were being honored, she said.
Guest speaker and former Special Forces soldier Master Sgt. Cliff Pierson began his address by discarding his prepared remarks. “Everything I was going to say has already been said, so I’ll just say ‘Ditto!’ ”
His remakes gained power as he continued, addressing the Gold Star Mothers: women who have lost their sons in war. He encouraged those in the audience to send a note or a card to the mothers at Christmas.
Pierson also urged residents to visit cemeteries dotted throughout the town, some of which contain graves dating back to the Revolutionary War. In many ways, he suggested, the cemeteries provide a history lesson to visitors.
The ceremony closed with a benediction from Larry Anderson, Post 105’s chaplain. In his prayer, Anderson called for blessings upon “the real America, the America worth fighting for.”
And then it was time for the parade to step off, to a mix of the deep rumble of Army vehicles and the infectious music of the CHS band.
As the parade swung out of West Street and began the climb up Main Street, Deborah Rivera took in the spectacle in the company of her daughters Angel, 11, and Lydia, 10.
Their brother Matthew, a freshman, is a band member, “following in the steps of his brother David who graduated two years ago,” Rivera said. The day has a pull for Rivera, who served six years in the Army reserve and then worked for 18 years of the Department of Veterans Affairs. And it is not just her. “I had uncles who served in World War II, a nephew who served in the Gulf War, a brother-in-law who was in Vietnam. We had quite a few who served and are still are,” she said, adding, “And I think we have all the branches (of the service) covered!”
In addition to being an enjoyable event, it’s important for her daughters to grow up recognizing and appreciating the legacy of those in her family and really all those who have served and sacrificed, Rivera said.