NORTHAMPTON — As the names of the city’s veterans who have died over the past year were read aloud at Park Street Cemetery in Florence Monday morning, members of the Junior Girl Scouts Troop 64642 placed flowers at the gravestones for several soldiers.
Though scaled back and more lightly attended by the public than pre-COVID-19, the Memorial Day of remembrance, held annually in the village since 1868, saw a return to some normalcy, with most spectators unmasked on the cool, damp day.
“It’s a pleasure to see so many people come out and actually see their faces,” said Steve Connor, director of Central Hampshire Veterans’ Services.
Put together by the Veterans Council of Northampton, the event commenced with a brief parade of vehicles, led by the VFW Post 8006 with the color guard, along with Veterans Council members, city fire and police, and the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office, traveling from Trinity Row through Florence center to the cemetery.
After the Pledge of Allegiance was recited, a prayer was led by Veterans Council Chaplain Carl Growhoski and the National Anthem was sung, Mayor David Narkewicz read a proclamation paying tribute to the 5,000 Northampton residents who have died in active duty to the community and their country.
“For 153 consecutive years, rain or shine, without fail, always on the same day, they have expressed to one and all that on Memorial Day everything should be focused on one singular and unifying principle: that the war dead cannot and will not be forgotten,” Narkewicz said
The proclamation also recognizes veterans who survived wars, but lost their lives to the pandemic.
Then, Narkewicz and Florence VFW Post 8006 Commander Thomas Pease placed a wreath at the base of the flagpole where a stone remembers city residents who have been in the armed forces.
Before firing gun salutes and taps culminated the ceremony, Connor read a Daily Hampshire Gazette column written by U.S. Air Force Colonel John Paradis, a veteran of service in Iraq and Afghanistan, that asked people to mark Memorial Day with at least a minute of solitude and quiet, the #GoSilent for a minute at 3 p.m. promoted by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
Members of the Girl Scouts, who last year visited the cemetery at a different time and had their participation woven into a virtual presentation, said they appreciated being able to place flowers at 30 resting places.
“It’s good to be here because we’re celebrating soldiers who have died,” said Maeve Bertrand, 10.
“While I was doing it I was remembering some people my mom has mentioned,” said Mia Lindahl, also 10.
The state’s emergency order was lifted too late to have participation by the high school band or the numerous other school and youth programs. But Connor said by 2022 a more elaborate ceremony, with warmer and sunnier weather, should resume.
Amherst held a similar event next to War Memorial Pool, where a stone beneath a flagpole remembers those who gave their life in service to the United States.
Connor, in leading that ceremony, said it is important for loved ones to remember both veterans and the sacrifices made by those who didn’t make it home.
Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman told those assembled on the lawn that he appreciated their presence on an important day, because his mother was a Navy nurse and his father served in the Army and was a prisoner of war.
“We admire your courage and appreciate your sacrifices,” said American Legion Post 148 Commander Terry Fenstad, before he and Bockelman placed the wreathe.
Seth Diamond of Amherst came to the ceremony with his children Malaika, 9, and Mekhai, 6. After the event concluded, Malaika placed a small American flag next to the wreath as her tribute to fallen soldiers.
Diamond said both of his grandfathers served in the military and, while they didn’t die in service, he likes to keep them in mind on Memorial Day.
“We’re recognizing Memorial Day to show our gratitude for those who served the country and ultimately those who sacrificed for the country,” Diamond said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
