The Williston Park and Mineola Memorial Day Parades will both be held on Monday morning, May 30, with veterans groups from both communities overseeing the commemorations.
A service will be conducted by Rev. Christine Van Liew from St. John’s Lutheran Church, Monsignor James MacDonald from St. Aidan R.C. Church and Rabbi Martin Cohen of the Shelter Rock Jewish Center in American Legion Post 144, 740 Willis Ave. at 9 a.m.
State Sen. Jack Martins will deliver a keynote address.
Frank Oliveri, commander of Post 144, said the parade will kick off at 9:30, proceeding south on Willis Avenue to Syracuse Street, then east on Syracuse Street to Center Street to Hillside Avenue. The parade then will move west on Hillside Avenue to Broad Street, north on Broad Street, then east back to Williston Park Village Hall.
A memorial ceremony for the nation’s war dead will be held in front of Village Hall at 10:45 or 11 a.m., with Oliveri and Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrbar both making remarks
Members of American Legion Post 144, including a color guard form Post 144 and its ladies auxiliary will be in the line of march, along with Boy Scout Troops 201 and 202, a local Girl Scout troop and members of the Williston Parik little league.
The Williston Park VFW Post 1688 color guard will also be marching, with Mineola High School providing marching tunes for the parade along with the Civil War Fife and Drum band from Bethpage. Members of the Williston Park Fire Department, honored political guests and other community organizations will be included in the line of march.
Following the ceremony at Williston Park Village Hall, the parade will proceed south on Willis Avenue to the Williston Park Fire House, where Williston Park Fire Chief Anthony Gagliardi is expected to speak.
Veterans of the Williston Park VFW and American Legion posts will then proceed to the War Memorial on the Village Green in East Williston, where a noon memorial ceremony will be conducted with East Williston Mayor David Tanner presiding.
The Mineola parade steps off from Wilson Park at 11 a.m., with the Chaminade High School Marching Band expected to lead the line of march. Doing double duty that day, the Mineola High School Band will also participate in its village’s parade.
The parade will move along Union Street from the park, then north to Westbury Avenue, left on Roslyn Road to Jericho. It will then turn left onto Jericho, moving west to Marcellus Road, where it will then turn south and end in Mineola Memorial Park around noon, according to Sal Cataldo, commander of American Legion Post 349, which oversees the parade this year.
Along with members of the Mineola American Legion Post, members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 144 will also be in the line of march.
Representatives of the Mineola Portuguese Center, the Red Cross, Boy Scout Troop 245 and Cub Scout Pack 246 will also be marching along with members of the Mineola Fire Department, its junior firefighters, the Mineola Volunteer Ambulance Corps and the Irish American Socitety of Nassau County.
Cataldo and Manny Grilo, commander of the Mineola VFW Post, will speak at the ceremonies in Memorial Park, along with Mayor Scott Strauss and other honored guests.
“It’s in memory of all the veterans who have passed away,” Cataldo said. “To us, it’s a solemn day. We have to pay homage to the people who went before us.”
