Claremont Memorial Day

By Patrick Adrian
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CLAREMONT — Memorial Day will always be about the veterans who made the “ultimate sacrifice,” said Claremont residents participating in the city’s memorial ceremony on Monday. Whether it rains or shines is of secondary importance, at best.

Yet in 2021, with the community trying to emerge from a 15-month long pandemic, the weather provided an arguably profound backdrop to Claremont’s commemorative tradition this year.

The skies over downtown Claremont, despite weeklong forecasts of rain, managed to push back the darkened clouds overhead during the annual parade and became unexpectedly clear and sunny in time for the traditional ceremony in Broad Street Park organized by Claremont’s American Legion Post 29.

While attention was fixed on America’s veterans who died in service, the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic remained present in context.

The parade, one of the city’s most popular yearly events, was noticeably quieter this year due to the absence of music. The Claremont School District, whose middle and high school bands have traditionally performed in the parade and ceremony, did not permit the student bands to participate due to “COVID protocols,” according to Post 29 officials.

The scheduled drum and fife band, a long staple of Claremont’s past parades, canceled its appearance due to the forecasts of steady rain.

Several residents noted the absence of music noticeably dampened the parade’s usual pomp and grandness but understood the circumstances.

“The music and bands are an important part of things,” said Rep. Walt Stapleton, R-District 3. “But we make the best of things. And it was still a nice parade.”

“I was upset that we didn’t have any bands but I understand the reason,” said resident Robert Glines, 75, the son of a WWII veteran and member of Post 29.

Residents expressed gratitude just to have a public ceremony again, without or without music. Last year’s Memorial Day parade and ceremony was canceled due to the pandemic. Claremont held an outdoor Veterans Day ceremony in Broad Street Park last November but has not hosted any parades since its annual Fire Prevention Parade on Oct. 11, 2019.

More than 100 people attended the Post 29 Memorial Day ceremony in Broad Street Park.

Rep. Gary Merchant, D-District 4, of Claremont, said the public turnout was encouraging after over a year with few community events or gatherings.

“This is really a testimony of the community for us to pull ourselves together to support the servicemen and servicewomen of our country,” Merchant said.

Music remained an integral part to the Post 29 memorial ceremony, albeit without the availability of the Stevens High School band to perform the “Star Spangled Banner.” In substitution, Post 29 Adjutant Michael Richmond led the gathering in singing “God Bless America.”

Other musical contributions included a performance of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” by Andy and Lois Buchan, a bagpipe rendition of “Amazing Grace” by Andy Chamberlain and the playing of taps by Stevens Sophomore Korin Wheeler, 16.

Arianna Pelton, a fifth-grader at Maple Avenue Elementary, read the war poem “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae.

Post 29 Commander Steve Blish, in his address, issued a reminder about the significance of the day and the purpose to remember those sacrifices of veterans and offer support to their families.

“Most of us will not truly understand the depth of their despair unless we have experienced it,” Blish said. “But we can always offer support. We can wear the poppy, place flags and wreaths on their graves, we can donate to charities that provide to their families and we can look at the surviving brothers and sisters in the Armed Forces and say ‘Thank you for your service.’”

Memorial Day, originally known as Declaration Day, originated in the years following the U.S. Civil War and officially became a federal holiday in 1971.

Over 1 million American veterans have died in war dating back to the American Revolution, including 620,000 veterans in the Civil War, 405,399 veterans in World War II and 116,516 veterans in World War I.