Westborough Celebrates Memorial Day 2012 [IMAGE GALLERY]

The weather was as glorious as the ceremonies, with clear blue skies and warm sunshine, as hundreds marched and hundreds more turned out to commemorate Memorial Day at the annual Westborough parade and ceremonies on Monday, May 28.

“The town and the veterans have gone over and above,” said Bob Sullivan, who rode in the parade to represent . “The town of Westborough has been wonderful.”

The day followed a traditional schedule of events, beginning with a ceremony at and moving to the start of the parade into After a stop at on South Street, the parade marched through the and down West Main Street. It ended with a presentation of speakers in front of the .

Grand Marshals included decorated Vietnam veteran John Matson and Stephen Sullivan, a 1983 graduate of who lost his life in Iraq in 2005.

Speakers included State Rep. Carolyn Dykema, D-Holliston, who spoke at St. Luke’s Cemetery; State Rep. Matt Beaton, R-Shrewsbury, who spoke at the Forbes Municipal Building; and a number of town dignitaries and veterans.

“It takes about six months to put this together,” Ken Ferrera told Westborough Patch. “We get started soon after Veterans’ Day. It takes a lot of work.”

One of the notably moving moments in the ceremonies was the playing of Taps. The crowd quickly grew quiet when buglers Greg Waite and Daryl Yang, both Westborough High School students, sounded the traditional song at each of the morning ceremonies. Many spectators could be seen covering their hearts, looking at the flag and saluting.

Beaton addressed what he called “the younger generation” in his comments, saying that he realized many looked at Memorial Day as the kick off to summer. “But I think what is really important is to look at the history books…and see the sacrifice so many others have made.”

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