Above: Southborough veterans led the parade in honor of fallen soldiers on Monday morning (photos by Beth Melo)
Over the long weekend, the town held its annual Memorial Day Services. Below are some images from the events.
On Monday morning, Southborough residents turned out to honor the town’s veterans and remember those lost in battle. The annual Memorial Day parade passed through downtown and then wound its way through cemeteries and war memorials. The parade was made up of veterans, officials, and scouts.
Although roads were wet and skies were grey, the rain broke before participants gathered and held off throughout the parade and ceremonies. The turnout was a bit smaller than some years, and Covid restrictions kept the school bands from participating. But there was a good turnout from town scouts and a number of onlookers.
(Click thumbnails to enlarge.)
At each stop, residents were reminded of the solemn reason for the ceremonies.
At Memorials, tribute was paid to Southborough residents killed in battle, from the Revolutionary War through recent conflicts. Names were read, prayers were said, speeches were given, a gun salute was fired, and Taps was trumpeted.
In keeping with long tradition, a Trottier 6th grader (Mina Richman) read the Gettysburg Address and a Southborough veteran (Ray Minnucci) recited Flanders Field. At the final stop, the All Wars Memorial on the Common, the speeches included honoring two Southborough residents.
VFW Commander Steve Whynot led the parade and ceremony. Speeches were made by American Legion Commander Dan Kolenda, Board of Selectmen Chair Lisa Braccio and others. (Whynot noted that Representative Carolyn Dykema, who normally participates, was at Hopkinton’s ceremony yesterday.)
The Phaneuf family was acknowledged for keeping up their annual tradition of placing flags on the poles lining Main Street in advance of the weekend.
Also thanked were the scouts and residents who joined veterans and officials on Friday night. The volunteers refreshed flags at the graves of veterans in the rural cemetery. (Confession, volunteers were working so quickly to try to beat the pending rain that I forgot to snap any pics!)
