?Rain? What rain? Monday mornings thunderstorms shut down Memorial Day parades across the county, but Fairfields marched on without a problem. The showers subsided before the first floats set off on South Pine Creek Road. By the time the police escort pulling up the rear hit the Town Hall Green, the sun was shining on the thousands that lined Fairfields streets to watch.
The days keynote speaker was Fairfield resident Lt. Col. Tom Armas of the U.S. Marine Corps. Armas said in his speech that although most everyone he talks to knows that Memorial Day is for honoring those who lost their lives in battle, the parades, picnics and ballgames are just as important as laying wreaths or planting flags in cemeteries.
It is about the hot dogs. It is about the baseball games. It is about the Yankees defeating the Red Sox on any given Memorial Day weekend, Armas said. Because those men and women that paid the ultimate sacrifice, that cut their lives short it cant be for nothing.
Armas, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, has received many military awards, including Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal, Overseas Service, Sea Service Deployment, National Defense Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Meritorious Service Medal and the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. But he asked the crowd gathered on the green to honor their country in their own way: by being better citizens, better neighbors, and better Americans.
We owe it to [the fallen soldiers] to be proud of who we are, not bury our heads in the sand, Armas said. We owe it to them to be great Americans.
This years parade took the Purple Heart as its theme, honoring those who were wounded in service to the country. St. Thomas Aquinas Schools float took home the theme prize for their depiction of the theme. Other winners included: first prize to McKinley Elementary School; second prize to North Stratfield Cub Scouts; third prize for the North Stratfield Brownies; and the civic award for Connecticut Challenge.
Were you at the Memorial Day parade? Send your own photos to [email protected].
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