The observance of Memorial Day in Tri-Town is a tradition, and each of the three towns has different events planned over the entire holiday weekend.
Rochester will hold its annual Memorial Day ceremony on Sunday, May 24 at noon in front of the Rochester Town Hall. At 12:00 pm, guests will be welcomed and join in prayer with Reverend Robert Ripley before the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem.
Guests and participants in the parade will march to Daggett Square for the placement of flowers and flags at the monuments and memorials, and the selectmen will read the names of the departed veterans of past wars.
The Rochester Memorial School will accompany the parade, performing “America, My Country Tis’ of Thee.”
The Army JROTC Battalion from New Bedford High School will perform the rifle salutes and “Taps,” and Representative William Straus will give a Memorial Day message before the reading of the Gettysburg Address.
In Mattapoisett, the Memorial Day Ceremony is scheduled for Monday, May 25 at 1:30 pm, starting in front of the Mattapoisett Library.
The Old Hammondtown School Band will perform the National Anthem, “America the Beautiful,” “The Star-spangled Banner,” and “Grand Old Flag.”
The guest speaker this year is Sgt. Edward Sweeney, Jr. of the U.S. Army, and Representative Straus will address those in attendance.
After the ceremony, members of the Legion will place wreaths on the War Memorials. The parade will proceed to Water Street, then to the Town Wharf where the JROTC will honor vets lost at sea. The parade will continue to Cushing Cemetery to honor the vets who lost their lives on land, and then end at the Legion Hall on Depot Street where there will be refreshments for the marchers.
In Marion, the VFW on Saturday, May 23, will plant flowers at the graves of veterans at Evergreen cemetery beginning at 10:00 am.
The Town will hold its annual Memorial Day parade on Monday, May 25, beginning at the Marion Music Hall on Front Street at 9:00 am. The parade will proceed past the Marion Town House, over to Old Landing, and then to Veterans Memorial Park for the placement of wreaths.
By Jean Perry