Crowd Turns Out For Southold's Annual Memorial Day Parade: Photos

GREENPORT, NY — Southold Town's annual Memorial Day Parade took place in Greenport on Monday, with a crowd turning out under sunny blue skies to pay tribute to the nation's heroes.

Hosted by the Greenport American Legion this year, the parade stepped off after a short ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park; the parade wended its way from Steamboat Corner at 1st Street and Main to 3rd and Front Street.

Charles Sanders, Commander of the Southold American Legion, said it's important to mark Memorial Day. "We forget these monuments, they get dirty, they get old, but they represent something very important — they represent the sacrifices a lot of people have made."

H also spoke about 75th anniversary of D Day on June 6 and about the fight for freedom from tyranny.

"Freedom comes at a cost," he said.

Greenport Village Mayor George Hubbard said it was good to see so many turn out to remember what everyone gave, "so that we can be free in this country. We can never forget the sacrifices they made for us. We enjoy our barbecues and other things, but everyone being here now is the true meaning of Memorial Day — and that's what we need to remember forever."

He asked all present to pray for those serving now, "that they will come home safe. And we need to pray for the families that have lost loved ones to conflicts, so that we are allowed to stand free in our streets."

Southold Town Deputy Supervisor Bill Ruland added, "No matter where you go or how much fun you have, please take time, just a little time, to remember the sacrifices that took place so you could do that."

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said the purpose of Memorial Day is twofold, to remember the sacrifices of those who gave their lives, "who never made it home," so that the nation might be free.

But second, he said, the goal is to educate the younger generation, that "the life they are living and enjoy came as a result of the sacrifices of the generation before them. That life isn't a video game. You have one chance to win and only one life to live, and you don't get to press game over, to start over," Russell said. "This is the true sacrifice of this nation. These are the people that have honored this nation, that have given us everything that we hold dear, who have protected our families and protected our freedoms — and we need to keep them in our memory."