EW, WP honor fallen war heroes

Bill Whelan

Community members came out in strength to show their support at the Williston Park Memorial Day Parade this past Monday. Many of them even walked the parade route, which ended in front of village hall on Willis Avenue.

The ceremony at Village Hall was led by American Legion Post 144 and its commander, Frank Busa, who gave a brief speech at the beginning of the ceremony. 

Busa urged the crowd to remember all of our fallen heroes.

“Because of the sacrifices they have made we have our freedom and we have our way of life that we enjoy so much,” he said,

After Norman Jardine and Rosemarie Farrar sang the “Star Spangled Banner” the ceremony’s guest speaker, Village of Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrbar, was introduced. 

He praised the American Legion to their dedication to Memorial Day. 

“As parades are becoming less fashionable throughout the country, Post 144 perseveres in their dedication to our fallen soldiers,” Ehrbar 

Ehrbar also spoke about mourning the dead and the impact those casualties have on the home front. 

“Since the war on terror began we have lost approximately 6,600 members of our armed forces. It is estimated that each one of these fallen heroes affects approximately 10 family members or friends. Taking this into account, more than 66,000 individuals have had to move on with their lives without the support of their fallen hero,” Ehrbar said.

At the end of the ceremony wreaths were placed in front of the memorial at Village Hall. 

The firing squad of Bill Lorusso, Bob Mitchell, and Bob Robesch shot off three volleys before taps was played. 

“It’s important that we continue to remember, continue to serve the community and try to impart our knowledge on the community,” said Robesch, a past county commander of the American Legion. 

Robesch and the firing squad also performed at the Williston Park Fire Department in a brief ceremony succeeding the one at Village Hall. The service honored fallen servicemen as well as firefighters, including former Williston Park Fire Department  Captain Kevin Mach, whose family was on hand to present a memorial wreath. 

Deacon Joseph Connelly from the Church of St. Aidan delivered the closing remarks on the service. 

“This custom we have of remembering our veterans can’t die, “ he said. “All of this is not free and we can never ever forget that.”

At ceremonies in East Williston, Village of East Williston Mayor David Tanner and members of the village board laid a wreath at the 9/11 Memorial on the Village Green.

Tanner quoted President John Kennedy’s speech on Memorial Day in 1961 calling for his fellow Americans to pray for “a new world of law where peace and justice shall prevail and a life of opportunity shall be assured for all.” 

He also quoted Oliver Wendell Holmes who said the occasion “celebrates and solemnly reaffirms from year to year a national act of enthusiasm and faith. It embodies in the most impressive form our belief that to act with enthusiam and faith is the condition of acting greatly.”

The Willets Road School Band played “America” at ceremonies on the Village Green after marching in the parade from the school to the Village Green. 

Tanner presented Mary Ellen Cocchi with the annual Mayor’s Award for her years of service on the village Beautification Committee and her help in designing a September 11 memorial.

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