Remembering those who served on Memorial Day

May 31—METHUEN — Memorial Day certainly felt like the start of summer.

The sky was a nearly spotless blue, and it was warm enough that members of the Methuen High School Rangers Band were cautioned to take sips of water, whether they felt thirsty or not.

But in case anyone forgot the true occasion for the parade, they were reminded by Tom Hargreaves, vice commander of American Legion Post 122, when it paused at the World War ll Memorial on Charles Street.

"This is the more solemn of our two holidays," he said, and explained that while Veterans Day on Nov. 11 honors former members of the armed forces who are still alive, Memorial Day remembers men and women who died while serving their country.

Hargreaves also pointed out that the Memorial Day parade on Monday was distinguished by the fact that it was the first to be held in Methuen in three years out of concern for the pandemic.

After Tenney Grammar School eighth-grader Gabriel Nyarko read a proclamation from Gov. Charlie Baker, Post 122 Commander John Dowd then said, "This day is sacred with the almost visible presence of those who departed before us."

The parade initially set out from Post 122 on Broadway, and was led on foot by members of Methuen's City Council. They were followed closely by Mayor Neil Perry, who waved to crowds from the passenger seat of a red convertible, while state Reps. Linda Dean Campbell and Marcos Devers also participated.

The Rangers Band included Arianna DeLeon on trumpet along with Dylan Gratiano and Jonathan Cochrane on alto saxophone. The students said they practiced marching in formation at band camp.

Their repertoire on Memorial Day included songs from each branch of the service, including the "Navy Hymn," which they played at the World War II Memorial.

Because there can never be enough music in a parade, they were joined by the Italian-American Band from Lawrence. There was also a disc jockey on a float who played recordings of "Amazing Grace" and other songs while being pulled by a pickup truck from Ron Marsan & Son, a general contractor.

The bands were joined by Boy Scout Troop 51, Cub Scout Pack 61, along with members of the high school's Army Jr. ROTC program and the Methuen Police Department.

A 1972 Dodge Polara also took part. Its driver said the vehicle was an exact replica of a Methuen police car from that period.

A group of Vietnam veterans carried a banner in the parade to celebrate the Lawrence Vietnam Memorial, which was dedicated May 11, 1991.

While most onlookers sought shaded spots for watching the parade, Lillian DeFeo and Richard Kinsey stood outside Post 122, where the nearby Spicket River at least suggested cooler temperatures. DeFeo has owned a home in Methuen for 64 years but hadn't been to a Memorial Day parade since she was young.

Kinsey served in the U.S. Air Force and took part in the Berlin Airlift, when Soviet forces blockaded that city after World War ll, leading American forces to supply German citizens from the air. Kinsey, who was stationed at a base in Libya at the time, said relief planes flew "24 hours a day."

After leaving the World War ll Memorial, which honors deceased service members from a number of conflicts and is flanked by memorials for all of the country's wars, the parade crossed Broadway before turning at Francis X. Robichaud Square onto Patriots Bridge. After passing the fire station, where firefighters stood at attention, the parade then headed to the cemetery.

"Again our nation has assembled to honor its heroic dead," Dowd said. "Because of them, our lives are free. Because of them, our nation lives."

Celeste Vicente, a Gold Star mother whose son David Vicente was killed in 2004 while serving with the Marines in Iraq, was escorted to the American Legion Memorial and addressed the crowd. She said Memorial Day is always a special time for her, and thanked those assembled for their help and support.

The closing notes were provided by the Methuen High band, from which a lone trumpet played taps and all the instruments joined together on "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Methuen wasn't the only community in the area to honor those who served on Memorial Day.

Ceremonies were held throughout the Merrimack Valley and Southern New Hampshire, including Andover, Derry and Londonderry, to name a few.