Memorial Day event held in Wilton

WILTON – A small group of veterans, local officials and residents attended a brief ceremony in the center of the downtown Sunday.

While the majority of local events commemorating 2015 Memorial Day will be held Monday, Wilton recently began holding a ceremony Sunday afternoon. After a hiatus following the 1992 event, residents organized an event last year.

Rev. David Smith, pastor at the Wilton Congregational Church, UCC, provided the opening prayer. That was followed by remarks by selectman and state Sen. Tom Saviello (R – Wilton) and state Rep. Russell Black (R – Wilton). Saviello read ‘Soldier Buried on the Battlefield,’ which had been quoted by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. in an 1895 Memorial Day speech at Harvard, while Black thanked veterans for “signing a blank check” to serve their country.

“We should remember this more than just on Memorial Day weekend,” Black said. “We should do it everyday of the year.”

A wreath was then dropped into Wilson Stream by some of the veterans present at the event.

The event was scheduled Sunday in order to not conflict with the number of Memorial Day events occurring in nearby communities on Monday.

In Farmington, at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 25, the Legionnaires will place a wreath at the World War 1 Memorial on Main Street, followed by a indoor presentation at the American Legion Post 28 on Middle and High streets. The parade participants will line up outside the post at 9:30 a.m. The inside program begins at 9:35 a.m., followed by the parade at 10 a.m. The parade will follow the same route it has used for the past several years. A light lunch will be served after the parade at the post, where you can meet the families of those Legionnaires who are being honored.

In Jay/Livermore Falls, wreath ceremonies by VFW Post 3335 will be held at Livermore Falls Memorial Bridge at 7 a.m., the Livermore Veteran Hospital at 7:20 a.m., the Jay POW/MIA Bridge at 7:45 a.m., the Jay Hill Ceremony at 8:15 a.m. and the Post 3335 at 8:45 a.m. The Main Street parade begins at 10 a.m.