Although it was Memorial Day, Mel Goldberg said he hoped residents both young and old would remember not only those who have died in battle, but those who have been wounded in battle as well.
“This Memorial Day, let us remember those who were wounded — physically and mentally,” said Goldberg, a 92-year-old World War II veteran who was grand marshall of the 91st Annual Great Neck Memorial Day Parade. “Let’s tell the men and women serving they are not forgotten.”
Goldberg, who served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1945 and flew 34 missions over Europe, was one of many veterans, civic group members, emergency responders and elected officials who marched or drove up Middle Neck Road.
The veterans marched alongside midshipmen from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Great Neck firefighters, religious groups, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Cub scouts and other social groups to a memorial service held at the Village Green.
“Memorial Day is when we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice,” Great Neck Park District Board of Commissioners Chairman Bob Lincoln said.
Louise McCann, chair of the parade committee, said at a memorial service after the parade that Memorial Day is in place to honor those who gave “the full measure of devotion.”
“Wars are not without their glory and their heroes,” McCann said. “But they bring such loss for loved ones.”
She said Memorial Day is a solemn day, properly set aside for contemplation.
“Don’t take the price of freedom for granted,” she said.
Great Neck resident and U.S. Coast Guard veteran Lee Simins, who watched the parade Monday with his wife Cindy, said Memorial Day is about remembering all those who died to protect the country.
“There are people out there, both men and women, who safeguard the security of this country and protect its freedoms,” Simins said.
The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy’s marching band kicked off the parade followed by hundreds of midshipmen.
They were followed by Goldberg, who enlisted in the U.S. Army in December 1942, just months after graduating from the City College of New York with a bachelor of science degree in government and economics statistics.
He served as a navigator in bombing missions over Europe and eventually rose to the rank of 1st lieutenant.
He received four Battle Stars, the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
After World War II, Goldberg said, he also served as captain in the U.S. Army Reserves.
Goldberg, who moved to Great Neck in 1963, worked as an executive in the communications field, and has been a producer, associate producer and moderator for many PATV programs, including “Veterans’ Stories” World War II,” “World War II: Women on the Homefront” and WWII to the Present,” according to PATV’s website.
Among those in attendance were a number of elected officials, including Nassau County Legislator Ellen Birnbaum (D-Great Neck), Village of Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender, Village of Thomaston Mayor Steven Weinberg, Town of North Hempstead councilwomen Anna Kaplan and Lee Seeman, Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth, Town Clerk Wayne Wink, Village of Great Neck Mayor Ralph Kreitzman and Village of Great Neck Trustee Mitch Beckerman, Great Neck Park District commissioners Dan Nachmanoff and Frank Cilluffo and Great Neck Board of Education Trustee Donald Ashkanese.
Also present at the memorial ceremony were state Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel (D-Great Neck), Town Receiver of Taxes Charles Berman, Great Neck Board of Education President Barbara Berkowitz and trustees Larry Gross, Monique Bloom and Susan Healy as well as Great Neck Public School District Assistant Superintendent for Business John Powell.
Emergency responders from the Great Neck Fire Alert and Vigilant Companies also marched in the parade, and drove several fire trucks up Middle Neck Road.
They were joined by members of the New York Fire Department’s Pipes and Drums band playing the bagpipes for the duration of the parade.
Contingencies from several local groups also marched in the parade, such as the Stepping Stone Sailing Club, the Great Neck Chinese Association, Boy Scout Troop 10, Cub Scout Pack 178 and the Girl Scouts. The Great Neck South High School Marching Band made the trek up Middle Neck Road as well.
Delegations from various religious groups also marched in the parade, such as the Brotherhood of Temple Beth-El, Temple Emanuel, St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, the Great Neck Episcopal Ministry and St. Paul Ame Zion Church.
The parade began 9:30 a.m. at the corner of Middle Neck Road and Susquehanna Avenue, and continued north on Middle Neck Road to the Village Green, located at the intersection of Middle Neck and Beach roads.
Great Neck South High School Senior Michelle Geffner also sang “God Bless America” to the crowd.
