East Rockaway remembers fallen heroes

Residents read the Wall of Honor at Memorial Park before the parade began.

Mary Malloy/Herald

Maria Stadler and her daughter, Melanie, 4, watched the parade from in front of Memorial Park

Mary Malloy/Herald

The East Rockaway High School band marches past the reviewing stand.

Mary Malloy/Herald

The East Rockaway Fire Department stood at attention for the Star Spangled Banner

Emily Umansky/Herald

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East Rockaway residents — many wearing red,white and blue and waving mini American flags, lined the streets of their village as the annual Memorial Day parade snaked its way through the streets on a bright, sunny Monday. Village Trustee Ed Corrado was the Master of Ceremonies and welcomed the crowd at the viewing stand, set up across from Memorial Park.

Father Chuck Romano, of St. Raymond’s Roman Catholic Church in East Rockaway, remembered Memorial Day and a day that they would play ball when he was a youngster. “But,” he said, “as we got older, we celebrated in a more solemn way,” learning the true meaning of the day.

American Legion No. 958 Commander Shelly Conn said Memorial Day is a day to “honor, appreciate and cherish all those who died and fought for our freedom.

“It’s a day celebrated across America,” Conn said, noting that across America, many other villages, towns and cities were observing that day just as this community is here today. “ … It’s not about picnics, it’s not about auto races … it’s a day to remember America’s fallen heroes. Never forget what they have done, and what their loved ones have lost. If you asked our heroes before they died how they would want to be remembered, they would say, “Take care of my family.”