'Freedom is not free' — Veterans honored, remembered during Wooster Memorial Day parade
WOOSTER – Hundreds lined city streets Monday morning with lawn chairs and blankets. Some brought breakfast and had American flags at the ready as they waited for the Memorial Day parade to begin.
Other than the two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, President of the Wooster Memorial Day Committee Nelson Weirick said, the parade to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the country has been going on for at least the past 60 years.
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Starting at the Wayne County Fairgrounds, the parade passed through downtown and made its way over the bridge on Madison Avenue before ending at the Wooster Cemetery.
As the marchers crossed the bridge, Mayor Bob Breneman stepped out of his car and dropped a wreath into the water “in memory of veterans lost or buried at sea,” according to a pamphlet from the ceremony.
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Among the units featured in the parade were cars with veterans from several different wars, including World War II up to the Gulf War, troops of both Boy and Girl Scouts and the Wooster High School Marching Band.
At the back of the parade were several firetrucks and Army trucks full of service members, both men and women, and their families along with several horses.
Ceremony at the cemetery
A crowd gathered at the cemetery for a brief ceremony with the Rev. Dana Keirstead leading the invocation.
The Wooster High School band played the national anthem and America the Beautiful, and people were encouraged to sing along.
Veteran Tracey Snyder carried the ceremonial wreath up to the memorial in honor of the fallen veterans. Just as Snyder placed the wreath, two F-16 fighter jets from an Air Force station out of Toledo flew overhead leading to an eruption of applause from the crowd.
Wooster High School senior Nurain “Sammy” Amier read Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and was followed by fellow Wooster junior Ishaan Gireesh who read the poem "In Flanders Field."
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Before the American Legion Post 68 and Wooster High School band buglers closed the ceremony with a gun salute and taps performance respectively, Retired Capt. Kenneth Kitchen spoke to the crowd.
Kitchen, who served in the U.S. military for a total of 24 years and the Wooster Police Department for 26 years, thanked the people who came out to the ceremony and reminded the veterans to keep sharing their stories so people can remember what Memorial Day is about.
“If you know our history, don't keep it to yourself,” Kitchen said. “Talk to your children and your grandchildren. Talk to anyone who will listen. Tell them about the people who gave everything for them. Tell them that freedom is not free.”
Reach Rachel Karas at rkaras@gannett.com
On Twitter: @RachelKaras3
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Veterans honored, remembered during Wooster Memorial Day parade
