General News: Remembrance Ceremony on Memorial Day
Sgt. Vincent Mannion is the commander of American Legion Post 353.
A member of the Mountainville fire company laid a wreath at the memorial.
Siena Kiro sang It's A Grand Ole Flag.
May 31, 2010
A crowd of more than 100 people gathered late Monday morning at the Veteran’s Memorial across from town hall in Cornwall to recall the sacrifices of those who fought and died for this country.
Sgt. Major Vincent Mannion, the commander of the American Legion Post 353 and a veteran of Iraq, introduced the local dignitaries and also added some interesting observations about the celebration of Memorial Day in Cornwall dating back 90 years.
Mannion recalled the significance of the artillery cannon that was donated by the French in 1920 to honor John Stillwell, a Cornwall resident who allowed French officers to recuperate in his Swiss chalet during World War One. (See a film of the 1920 ceremonial delivery of the cannon below.)
He also described how thirteen trees were planted on the veteran’s memorial square in 1912, one for each of the Cornwall residents who died in the Civil War. Two of the original trees were recently replaced by the town of Cornwall, which maintains the site.
Captain Robert Watts, the superintendent of the New York Military Academy, encouraged those present to join in a national moment of remembrance later that day to acknowledge the sacrifices of more than one million Americans who have died while fighting since the American Revolution. More than half a million died in the civil war, he said, and some 400,000 perished during World War Two.
Watts made no reference to the financial difficulties that are threatening the future of the military academy but Orange County legislator Kevin Hines said the community needs to support NYMA, asking, “What would Cornwall be without NYMA?”
Sgt. Mannion then introduced four-year-old Siena Kiro, whom he recalled meeting recently while he was selling poppies outside of CVS to raise money for the American Legion. Kiro’s father, a New Windsor resident, asked Mannion if his daughter could sing and Mannion said ‘yes.’
Dressed from head to foot in red, white and blue, the four-year-old stood calmly in front of the crowd and belted out “It’s A Grand Ole Flag,” ending with a salute.
World War Two veterans Ed Flynn and Andy Maroney then laid the first wreath at the veteran’s memorial, followed by the police chiefs, the fire departments, the historical society and the ambulance corps. Four NYMA cadets performed a rifle salute followed by Abbey Mayer playing taps on his bugle and as the tune evaporated into the air, people stood quietly remembering the significance of the day.
A filmmaker covered the parade and ceremony in 1920 when a French diplomat bestowed a captured German gun on the town.
Here's the film:
Comments:
Even though the turnout might not be as large as one might hope, I believe that all the folks attending feel in their hearts the importance this remembrance holds. It puts a human face on what has become, through the media a, a numbingly common occurrence. It brings us back to humanity. And, parents,please teach your children to stand as the flag passes. Even if you don't agree with a gov't or politician, you can still love your country. That flag is the symbol of what our people have died for, it is our shared ideal
