Memorial Day ceremonies Monday
WAKEFIELD — As we prepare to honor those veterans of our military services who made the Supreme Sacrifice so we can remain free, the public is invited to two Memorial Day ceremonies Monday, one hosted at Moulton Park by the West Side Social Club and the other put on by the town on the Veterans Memorial Common.
The first event will begin at 10 a.m. at Moulton Park. The West Side Social Club will honor Memorial Day with a solemn procession, public addresses and a rededication of the living memorial of the trees planted in Moulton Park in remembrance of those from Wakefield who died in service of our country.
The keynote speaker will be William Henry DeRoche Jr., USN (Ret). Town Council Chair Mehreen Butt will speak as well.
The town of Wakefield’s Memorial Day ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. This outdoor ceremony is on the Veterans Memorial (Upper) Common in front of the World War II Memorial.
The theme for this year’s Memorial Day Ceremony is “Valor.”
The keynote speaker is Brigadier General Leonid Kondratiuk (Ret). Brigadier General Kondratiuk served in the National Guard and was on active duty for nearly 30 years. He worked as a military historian with the US Army Center for Military History, the National Guard Bureau, and the US Army War College. He served as a member of the Department of Defense 50th Anniversary of World War II Committee.
General Kondratiuk is assigned to The Massachusetts Adjutant General’s Office as Director, Veterans Affairs.
He is the National Commander of the 26th Infantry Division Veterans Association.
The Massachusetts Medal of Fidelity will be presented to four Gold Star Wives: Mrs. Mildred “Millie” Cooper; Mrs. Elaine Caruso; Mrs. Jeanne Hue; and Mrs. Diane Oxford.
Members from the Wakefield community will share in the reading of 161 names of Wakefield’s Fallen, honored by the “Bell of Peace” provided by the Wakefield Fire Department. Spectators will witness a formal Twenty-One Gun Salute, our nation’s highest honor, rendered by a section of the1st Battalion 101st Field Artillery Regiment, Massachusetts National Guard — “The Nation’s First.”
Wakefield Memorial High School students are sharing their talents at the ceremony. Jhalak Patel and Lucy Spry are performing the “National Anthem.” Buglers Owen Kelley and Kathryn Sliski are performing “Taps.” Our color guard is provided by Boy Scout Troop 701. The Wakefield Girl Scouts will place a wreath at the memorial. Chaplains Father Ronald Barker, pastor of Saint Joseph Catholic Church and Reverend Glenn Mortimer, pastor, Wakefield-Lynnfield United Methodist Church are giving the invocation and benediction, respectively.
A member of the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea is presenting the Ambassador for Peace Medal to James MacKay, the son of Sergeant Billie MacKay, who served in the United States Marne Corps in Korea in 1951 to 1952.
Residents can learn more about veteran benefit programs and services by contacting the Wakefield’s Veteran Services Officer, David Mangan 781-246-6377.
What’s open and what’s closed on Memorial Day
What’s closed Monday
Monday is Memorial Day, a federal holiday honoring those veterans of our military services who made the Supreme Sacrifice so we can remain free.
In recognition, some services will be limited or not performed at all on Monday.
For example, there will be no trash or recycling collected in Wakefield.
There will be no mail delivery.
Banks will be closed.
There will be no school.
Town Hall will be closed, as will the Beebe Memorial Library.
MBTA subway trains, buses and trackless trolleys will run on a Sunday schedule. The commuter rail will run on a weekend schedule.
Most retail establishments will be open.
The Daily Item will not publish a paper on Memorial Day.