Memorial Day Weekend 2023: Middletown-Area Parades And Events

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The upcoming Memorial Day service/parade in Middletown is part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

As the observance has changed over the years, many families also use Memorial Day as an occasion to visit cemeteries and leave flowers at the graves of family members, regardless of whether they served in the military.

Memorial Day Weekend is also the unofficial kickoff to summer. Here are all the ways to commemorate U.S. veterans this week in the Middletown area and beyond:

• May 29 Middletown Memorial Day Parade at 10 a.m. The parade steps off at 10 a.m. from Bayshore Middle School (834 Leonardville Road) and the route continues to Appleton Avenue to Center Avenue to Brevent Avenue. The route then turns right onto Highland Avenue, left on Leonard Avenue, and right on Viola Avenue to conclude at American Legion Post 338, address is 860 Rt. 36. The Memorial Day parade is hosted by Middletown Township and the Middletown American Legion Post 338.
• Holmdel: The township ceremony is May 29 at 10:30 a.m., Town Hall, 4 Crawfords Corner Road, Holmdel.
• Hazlet: The township ceremony, "Remembering Our Fallen Heroes," is May 29 at 10 a.m., at Veterans Park, 1776 Union Ave., Hazlet. Bring chairs. Light refreshments to follow.
• Holmdel: New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial and Museum; ceremony is Memorial Day, May 29, at 11 a.m., 1 Memorial Lane, Holmdel. Keynote speaker is a Goldstar family member; a special presentation will be made; a former Miss New Jersey will perform as singer.

The history of Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, dates back to 1868, when Gen. John A. Logan called for a day of remembrance to honor the Northern lives lost amid battle during the Civil War that had ended just a few years earlier, according to History.com. As time passed, more and more people called it Memorial Day, and it became a federal holiday in 1971.

Waterloo, New York, is considered the birthplace of Memorial Day. The town’s observance on May 5, 1866, predated Logan’s call for a day of remembrance. Local businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers and flags.

Until World War I, the holiday honored only those soldiers who died while fighting for the Union in the War, as Southern states honored their war dead on a separate day. After the 116,000-plus American deaths in World War I, the tradition changed to remember all who have died while serving in the military.

Every year, a national moment of remembrance is held at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. No matter where they are or what they’re doing, Americans are asked to pause for one minute in silence to remember military personnel who have given their lives in service to their country. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the midday time was chosen because it’s a time when many Americans will be enjoying their freedoms on a national holiday.