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East Meadow veterans honor the fallen at annual Memorial Day ceremony

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Veterans from across East Meadow raised their right hands to their temples to salute and commemorate fallen comrades at the Veterans Memorial Park in East Meadow on Monday.

Below a cluster of cloudy skies, veterans, local Town of Hempstead officials and East Meadow residents commemorated Memorial Day by hosting a special ceremony at the park. Although the annual Memorial Day Parade was canceled due to rain, Parade Committee Chairs Liz Fries and Dolores Rome, with help from Boy Scouts Troops 362 and 157, still held a ceremony.

“The Boy Scouts stepped up to the plate and helped out immensely,” Liz Fries said. “It was really a collaborate effort and we are so thankful for the Boys Scouts.”

Fries and Rome have been organizing the Veterans Memorial Day Parade for more than 20 years, and Norma Gonsalves, the County Legislature’s presiding officer, said this year was uniquely special.

“For the first time in the ceremony’s history, we were able to honor the first parade female Grand Marshall Stephanie Rossetti,” Gonsalves, of East Meadow, said. “I am extremely ecstatic that the ceremony carried on thanks to the Boy Scouts troops. I will remember this ceremony for a very long time.”

Gonsalves, along with Assemblyman Thomas McKevitt and Veterans of Foreign Wars Commander John Mallico, honored Rossetti with a Town of Hempstead Citation. The ceremony included a prayer from the Rev. Robert Holz of East Meadow’s St. Raphael’s Parish. Gonsalves said 18 wreathes were placed at the Veterans of Foreign Wars memorial, a ceremony that is both emotional and significant.

“The cooperation from everyone at the event truly showed how special this service is to our community,” Gonslaves added. “If the ceremony had been canceled, it would’ve been a major loss to the community as the purpose of this event is to remember and commemorate veterans who lost their lives by protecting ours. There is nothing we can truly say to honor those who have fallen.”