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Locust Valley Memorial
Day Parade May 26th

On Monday, May 26th, 2008, the American Legion Howard Van Wagner Post 962 of Locust Valley will be hosting the community's Memorial Day Parade. The parade is in honor of those men and women of the armed forces who have made the supreme sacrifice in times of war. It is an opportunity for the young and old to remember the sacrifices and honor those who died for freedom.
The parade starts at the newly renovated Howard A. Van Wagner Post 962 at the corner of 9th Street and Forest Avenue at 9 A.M. The parade group includes the members of the American Legion and various organizations including the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Locust Valley Volunteer Fire Department, British Veterans, Chamber of Commerce, Boys and Girls Club, and other civic organizations. The Grand Marshal of this year's parade is Lattingtown's Mayor, Clarence Michalis. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy as a navigator in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of operation. He participated in wartime operations in the Marshall, Caroline, and Philippine Islands campaigns including (Leyte and Lingayen Gulfs), as well as islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Veterans during the parade lay wreaths and the Legion rifle team fires a volley of shots in a salute to the fallen at the parade's four stops. The first stop of the parade is at American Legion Plaza, located at the corner of Weirs Lane and Forest Ave. Three monuments are dedicated in honor of those who served during World War II, and the Korean and Vietnam Conflicts. The second stop is at the Locust Valley Library. Below a captured German 7.7 cm field cannon, the names of the 136 men who served during the First World War. Stars indicate that three of those men made the supreme sacrifice, including Howard Van Wagner. Van Wagner, whom the Locust Valley American Post is named after, had enlisted in the 6th Regiment, Engineers on October 18th, 1917. He was killed in action on July 28th, 1918, in France. Van Wagner was, according to a local newspaper of the era, "a clean cut boy of exemplary habits, well liked and beloved by all his friends."
The third stop of the parade route is next to the Locust Valley Volunteer Fire Department, at the monument dedicated to the men and women who served their country during World War II, and to those men who "made the supreme sacrifice." Fourteen local men perished during the war.
The parade culminates in a ceremony at the field adjacent to the Locust Valley Elementary School with speeches, wreath placement, a rifle volley and the playing of taps. In addition, a reading of the Locust Valley Honor Roll, those who perished in service to their country, will be read.
Though many members of the community come out to view the parade route, all are encouraged to join in the closing ceremony at the Locust Valley Elementary School. Ice cream refreshments, donated by the American Legion, will be served at the conclusion of the event.
The preparation of the event has been going on for months. On Sunday, May 18, 2008, veterans of the American Legion Post 962 placed flags along Forest Ave and Birch Hill Road to highlight the importance of the day. In addition, members from the American Legion along with the Boy Scouts placed American flags on the graves of those veterans who are interred at the Locust Valley Cemetery.

• Adam Grohman