72.0°,
Partly Cloudy Remembering the fallen in the Five Towns
Memorial Day parades on May 24 and 25
Three parades are scheduled to take place during Memorial Day weekend in the Five Towns to honor all the men and women killed during their service time in the U.S. armed forces. Memorial Day, for many people, also marks the traditional beginning of the summer season.
Inwood’s parade will step off on Sunday at noon from the Inwood Long Island Rail Road parking lot at noon, proceeding north on Doughty Boulevard, and ending at the PFC. John J. Oliveri V.F.W. Post 1582 at the intersection of Doughty Boulevard and Mott Avenue. A memorial service is scheduled to take place at the post after the parade. Several local groups are expected to participate in the parade, including the Inwood Buccaneers, the Inwood Fire Department, Our Lady of Good Counsel band, the Sons of Italy, the Lawrence High School marching band, and the Boy and Girl scouts.
The grand marshal for Inwood’s parade will be John Santora, 93, a Navy veteran from Inwood who served from 1943-1946. He recalls his service time, where he spent most of it on a cargo ship.
“At the time, there was a lot of patriotism,” he said. “I wasn’t drafted (he enlisted). I was a little homesick. I never had a gun in my hand, shot or killed anyone. I was not wounded. I was very lucky. I have no complaints. Millions of boys didn’t come home.” Towards the end of World War II, he said he spent time on a destroyer ship, which made it as far as the Panama Canal en route to Germany, when the war ended.
Santora would like to see all U.S. soldiers come home, but that may be unrealistic, he thinks. “There should be no more memorial days, so that our soldiers come home alive,” he said. “Unfortunately, wars never end.”
On Monday, the Hewlett-Woodmere Business Association (HWBA) is hosting the parade and a post-parade celebration at the high school. At 9:30 a.m., the parade begins in front of the Woodmere Fire Department on Irving Place, then traveling up Broadway and ending at the high school parking lot, where refreshments and entertainment are being provided by local businesses.
