By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
NEW BALTIMORE — A crowd gathered outside Medway-Grapeville firehouse Monday to pay tribute and to honor troops that made the ultimate sacrifice.
Each Memorial Day, the communities of Coeymans, Ravena and New Baltimore join together to commemorate the fallen, rotating the site of the somber ceremony. This year the service was held at Medway-Grapeville firehouse on Route 51 in New Baltimore.
Commander Michael Kindlon from Unitas Memorial Veterans Association hosted the service, surrounded by members of the VFW, veterans, several fire companies and auxiliaries, and their supporters.
“The question that I have for you is, what did you do for your freedom today?” Kindlon asked the crowd. “I can tell you that everyone we are remembering today paid the ultimate sacrifice, and that was their life.”
Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day, and was initially observed following the Civil War, when more than 620,000 troops were killed, roughly 2% of the nation’s population, according to the National Archives. The holiday was called Decoration Day because it was a day to decorate the graves of Union troops killed in battle.
“From this beginning, Memorial Day is now designated as an annual day of remembrance to honor all those who have died in service to the United States during peace and war,” according to the organization.
Kindlon asked the audience to stop and take the time to think about the sacrifices that were made by troops through the years.
“Think about this — you can feel the breeze on your face, you can feel the sun on your head, you can go home with your family and have a wonderful celebration,” Kindlon said. “Pause, take this time right now — this is what freedom feels like. The people that we are remembering today gave that up.”
He encouraged everyone to value their time as it is the world’s most valuable commodity.
“Think about how you spend your time,” Kindlon said. “Time is the most valuable asset that we have, and many a generation has paid the ultimate sacrifice so you can feel the sun on your face and you can just be who you are. I would hate for that to be for nothing.”
Christie Harris from Unitas Memorial VFW Auxiliary read the traditional poem “In Flanders Fields,” written during World War I in honor of fallen troops and the “red poppy” that has become their symbol.
Harris spent the weekend traveling to several Memorial Day events, honoring those who died in battle.
“It’s really very humbling as a civilian to take the time to go around to places like the cemetery and other events,” Harris said. “It makes you realize how we do need to take a pause and be thankful for the things that we have as a result of these individuals who gave the ultimate sacrifice.”
During the ceremony, Ken Fava from Medway-Grapeville Fire Company laid a ceremonial wreath on a monument dedicated to those who have served in various capacities.
“We have a memorial here in honor of the men and women that served the fire company, the community and the country, so as part of the VFW service, we place a wreath to remember everyone from the military, the fire company, everybody that served their country.”
Musician and Vietnam veteran Jack Covey, who served in combat in the Marine Corps, performed several songs during the ceremony in tribute to his fallen comrades.
