Spirit of Plainview Honors Lost Heroes

A diverse cross-section of the Plainview community honored the nation's war dead Monday with a parade filled with veterans, music and memories.

The rain stopped on cue and the sun peaked out just after the start of the annual parade along Old Country Road. By the time the procession got to the Morton Village Plaza, the heat and humidity blanketed the marchers with a first full taste of summer.

Plainview's great attributes were on display Monday. The brought out its impressive arsenal of modern apparatus, but remembered its past by leading the contingent with a vintage ladder/search light truck. The Knights of Columbus represented . The Men's Club of the waved to the crowd; members of the  passed out water bottles to the thirsty.

The musicians of were a hit. The band marched the length of the parade in their heavy blue and white uniforms, playing martial tunes along the way.

The Plainview JFK Choir sang "God Bless America" at the memorial ceremony at the As they did, kindergarten children signed the words in American Sign Language. It was a moment that first silenced the crowd, then left them cheering.

Classic cars carried local dignitaries. Local businesses were represented on floats. Boy Scout and Cub Scout and Girl Scout troops stepped along side soccer teams and baseball clubs and, even bulldogs, the latter rescued by local people who care for their welfare.

The Grand Marshall was 82-year-old Dennis Cudahy who, at 17, enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He became a fireman on the U.S.S. North Carolina. His service buddies nicknamed him "Beans."  The elderly vet spoke briefly, but not of war. He thanked everyone for the honor of being named Grand Marshall. Then he thanked his wife, the woman he has been with through 52 years.

And the ceremony at the park ended with solemn shots shattering the still summer morning. An honor guard raised their weapons and fired three blank rounds into the air. The honored war dead were remembered.

Plainview had remembered them.