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May 15th 2008

Critique by Costa by Joe Costa
No Memorial Day Parade? For Shame!

By Joe Costa

(April 18, 2003) A line from a Bill Joel song goes “Our fathers fought the Second World War”. So it was with my generation. We grew up and prospered in those years after the war but were always reminded about those who made the supreme sacrifice so that we could remain free. Memorial Day was the day that year after year we were told the story of the brave men that died for the principles that we hold dear. We all participated in some way or another on Memorial Day. We were Boy and Girl Scouts or played in the local school bands and we marched in the parade. We marched along with men who had fought and returned and who had more to remember than we. As the years passed more men marched who had served in different conflicts, first Korea, then Vietnam. Vietnam was the World War of our generation and we all knew someone who did not come home and many who went and returned.

We are once again trying to save the world and our people are in a foreign, hostile environment fighting so that others may enjoy some of the freedoms that we enjoy daily. Even though victory evidently will be swifter than originally anticipated it doesn’t hide the fact we are still losing people to the cause. The original conditions that led to the establishment of a day of remembering exist again today. Memorial Day is just as relevant and important today as it ever was.

Today I learned that, this year, Kingston will not have a Memorial Day parade. How can this be? Each year the Govoni Post has planned, managed, and paid for the parade. The Town contributes a small amount of money for flowers and flags for the memorials but the Post foots the majority of the money. When I was a Selectman I remember Tony Cazale coming to our meetings asking for our support. I remember his dedication to the memory of those lost. I remember his insistence that the day be observed for what it was, Remembrance of those who never returned.

I also remember being told that a grateful town had voted to provide a place for veterans to meet. Time has passed since WW II and many of those original men are gone. I have been told that parade costs are over six thousand dollars, primarily band fees. Our past parades have not been extravaganzas, typically one band and the local units. Apparently the Post no longer has the means to fund a parade without taking the chance that their organization would cease to exist . To boot, they cannot see any reason to risk their dwindling funds when attendance along the parade route has dropped year by year to almost no watchers at all. Nobody seems to care.

I myself haven’t been to a Memorial Day parade in Kingston for some time. I go to Plymouth because it is a morning parade and partly because I know many more of the people involved, simply because there are more. I didn’t think I would be missed but now I realize that I should have gone to support those who are doing their best to keep the memories of the past alive.

A day doesn’t go by now that I do not think of some of the young men I know that have been called up to represent their country. I think of their parents and realize how anxious they are to see their young men returned home quickly and safely. I went to a funeral for a WW II veteran last month and listened to his sister tell us how terrible the family felt when her four brothers were gone off to war. Memorial Day meant something to the people of her generation just as it should be equally as important to us now. We cannot go without a Memorial Day celebration. Parades should not have to cost six thousand dollars. A band is not totally necessary.

It was pointed out to me that a Veteran’s organization should not be called upon to remember and thank veterans but that is the way it has been. Part of the reason the veterans organizations exist is to keep people from forgetting. What needs to be done is to support their efforts and offer help. We have our own Music Man here in Town, he does wonders with the elementary school band and am sure he could help pull off some musical assistance. We support the High School and the original deal was the high school band would be available to the member towns on a rotating basis. I wonder if this year is our turn. Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, Brownies, Police, Fire, sounds like a parade shaping up.

We need to set an example for our youth just as the parents of my generation did for us. They need to understand and appreciate just why we assemble on Memorial Day. This is a minimal effort to get the ball rolling. We need support for our veterans down at the Govoni Post . Show them that we do care. Let’s make some noise. Tell me when to show up, this year I’ll be there. That’s my story. I’m sticking to it. 

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