Members of the Fairhaven High School Football team and Fairhaven Lions Club members carry the 50×30 foot “Big Flag” along Main Street in the Fairhaven Memorial Day Parade on 5/29/23 amid strong winds as they cross Route 6. Photo by Beth David.
By Beth David, Editor
Fairhaven held its annual Memorial Day Parade under clear skies, in warm comfortable weather, albeit with a lot of wind, and lots of people lining the route along Main Street from the center of town to Riverside Cemetery for the ceremony. And although the high school band stopped at Fairhaven High School to play the national anthem, the Big Flag had already been raised. The FHS Alumni members were nervous about the high winds, so they raised the flat before the parade started, instead of while the band played.
Spectators lined the whole route, with many waving flags and voicing support for the veterans, police, fire, and organizations that marched.
At Riverside, US Navy Senior Chief Larry Jones kept his opening prayer short, saying that Memorial Day is a day that is set aside to “remember with gratitude and pride” all those who served and died for our country and our freedom.
“May your day be filled with memories and peace,” said Senior Chief Jones. “God bless America.”
Navy Veteran Dorothea Machado, 100, also spoke to the crowd, saying she was happy and proud to be there.
“Not that I’ve done anything distinguished,” said Ms. Machado, but added, “I happen to be the oldest veteran in Fairhaven.”
She told the story of visiting Europe more than 70 years ago, and how she almost never got there after visiting the Azores and seeing poverty that almost sent her right back to Boston.
But a man on the ship convinced her to continue.
Europe was being reconstructed after WWII and it was “so much worth while” to continue on her trip, she said.
“So many of our servicemen had made the supreme sacrifice so I could continue,” she said. “And it was a free land for all of us after all, rather than the enemy. And I was delighted.”
She said it was one of many great experiences.
Navy Veteran Dorothea Machado, 100, speaks to the crowd at Riverside Cemetery during the ceremony after the Memorial Day Parade in Fairhaven on 5/29/23. Photo by Beth David.
“I’m very proud to be here and to honor our departed servicemen,” said Ms. Machado. “My only regret is I wish I could have another 100 years.”
In his closing prayer, Fr. Stephen Banjare, Pastor of St. Joseph Church in Fairhaven, said we gather in this “sacred place,” we offer our gratitude “for the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation.”
“May the memories of those we honor today be forever etched in our hearts,” said Fr. Banjare. “May their sacrifices never be forgotten, but always serve as a reminder of the cost of freedom.”
The ceremony also included the reading of General Logan’s Orders, which created the holiday, by Select Board chairperson Leon Correy; reading of the Governor’s Proclamation on this year’s Memorial Day by Fairhaven Veterans Services Agent Brad Fish; Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address by FHS Senior Class President Adin Monroe; “Battle Hymn of the Republic” by the FHS Marching band; remarks by Navy Veteran Dorothea Machado; reading of the town’s honor roll by Select Board member Stasia Powers; the laying of the wreath at the Civil War Memorial; and the playing of taps by the high school band; and other musical arrangements by bagpiper and town Conservation Agent Bruce Webb; and, of course, the firing of the small cannon by the Fairhaven Village Militia.
The public was invited to a free buffet at the VFW after the ceremony.
Chuck “Hell On Wheels” Cromwell uses his motorized scooter to join the Memorial Day Parade in Fairhaven on 5/27/23 Photo by Beth David.
“I feel good,” said veteran Chuck Cromwell, 92, who was tooling around in his motorized scooter and wearing his signature “hell on wheels” helmet. “I love it. Are you kidding me?”
He said he always marched when he could walk, now he rolls.
He also said the flag should be at half-mast on Memorial Day and instructed this reporter to “give ’em hell” at any place that did not do it.
FHS Senior Class President Adin Monroe has been admitted as a Midshipman to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD, and will report later this month. He said his grandfather served, his brother is in Army ROTC, and his father works for the Navy.
“I guess the ideals I was raised on made me want to serve and I go tin and I’m going,” said Mr. Monroe.
A video of the parade and ceremony will be available on FairhavenTV.com under Fairhaven Community Media.
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- L-R: Veteran Bill Moniz and US Navy Senior Chief Larry Jones carry the wreath to the Civil War Monument in Riverside Cemetery during the ceremony after the Memorial Day Parade in Fairhaven on 5/29/23. Photo by Beth David.
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- The Tapper family cousins wave flags during the Memorial Day Parade in Fairhaven on 5/27/23 Photo by Beth David.
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- Veterans pose for the media and many cell phones at the VFW, where there is always a buffet waiting for all, after the parade and cemetery service on Memorial Day, 5/27/23. Photo by Glenn C. Silva for the Fairhaven Neighborhood New.
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- John Garcia of the Fairhaven Village Militia lights the “Little Canon” at Riverside Cemetery during the Memorial Day ceremony on 5/27/23. Photo by Glenn C. Silva for the Fairhaven Neighborhood New.
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- Peter Pelletier honored his family by holding photos of four generations of veterans as he marched in the Fairhaven Memorial Day Parade on 5/27/23. Photo by Glenn C. Silva for the Fairhaven Neighborhood New.
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- Fairhaven High School Alumni Association members and volunteers raise the 50×30 “Big Flag” at the high school before the Memorial Day Parade on 5/29/23. Photo courtesy of Frank Solensky.
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