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Partly Cloudy with Haze Rockville Centre honors veterans despite rain
Village holds indoor Memorial Day ceremony at Recreation Center
Rain kept residents inside but it did not stop Rockville Centre from honoring its heroes.
Despite the weather that canceled the Memorial Day Parade, the village still held a ceremony inside the Rec Center last Monday.
Pastor David Grainson of the Holy Trinity Church started the ceremony with an invocation thanking those who have died for freedom. “We pray for those who have given their life in defense of these gifts,” he said. “We thank you for them. And for the gifts they brought to the world during their life. For we know that a life lived — even for the shortest of time — remains a gift of immeasurable beauty and holiness.”
Joe Scarola, commander of American Legion Post 303, introduced Frank Colon Jr., the grand marshal. “Frank, a Rockville Centre resident, served 22 years in the U.S. Army,” said Scarola. “His years in the army took him all over the world, and he retired with the rank of sergeant first class… But since leaving the army, his service to veterans has been extraordinary.”
Colon is involved with many veterans’ organizations — he is a former commander of the Nassau County American Legion. He also coordinated visits from various veterans’ organizations to the Northport Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, visiting every month for eight years.
“Remembering our fallen once a year is not enough,” Colon said. “The widows, the widowers, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and children remember everyday. We owe it to our heroes that died, and their loved ones left behind to make sure that their sacrifices are remembered, and their service to our nation will always be honored.”
Mayor Francis X. Murray spoke about two servicemen in his own family — his father, former mayor Gene Murray, who served in the European theatre of World War II; and his cousin, Arthur J. Murray, Jr., who died in 1969 in the Vietnam War.
Recently elected State Senator Todd Kaminsky spoke about his grandfather, who was a prisoner of war for 13 months in Germany. He also had a bullet fragment in his leg from when he was shot, which stayed for the rest of his life.
Kaminsky said he would tell his grandfather that he was a hero, but his grandfather would tell him that the real heroes are the people who did not come home.
Kaminsky also said that it was fitting that Memorial Day is the beginning of summer because Americans enjoy freedom with beaches and barbecues, thanks to the sacrifices of soldiers throughout history. “Thank god we have the soldiers that stand prepared to defend that here and now,” he said. “Because we all know — make no mistake — that there are animals halfway around the world that wish to take our freedom from us. And we can go to sleep at night only because there are other men who stay awake defending us.”
The ceremony ended with local organizations placing wreaths in honor outside in front of the memorials to the village’s fallen. Grainson gave a benediction for soldiers and their loved ones.
Scarola rang a ship’s bell instead of the usual 21-gun salute. South Side High School band member Hannah Dion played taps, and high school chamber singer Laurence Plonsky performed “God Bless America.” Afterwards, Scarola asked that people take a moment to remember the families of veterans, veterans with physical and mental wounds and police and fire departments. He also invited everyone to the American Legion Post on Maple Avenue for refreshments.
The rain had stopped and the sun started to shine as people left the Rec Center.
