Memorial Day in Owego: A Time for Remembering

Owego’s Memorial Day Parade at 10:30 a.m. and Service of Remembrance at 11 a.m. will remember those young Americans who had lives that were only beginning and cut short so the rest of us could pursue our dreams.

On Monday, May 25, Owego and Tioga County will pause to remember all of America’s wars, large and small.

Remembrance Service After Parade   

Highlights of the Service of Remembrance at the Tioga County Veterans Memorial on the south lawn of the Tioga County Court House will include a

Wreath Laying Ceremony by the Tioga County Marine Corps League and veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan Vietnam, Korea and World War II representing American Legion Post 401, Glenn A. Warner Post 1371, Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 480 and veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Invocation precedes the National Anthem by the Owego Free Academy Band. Roll Call of Honor  – the Reading of Names of Tioga County’s Fallen Heroes and the Placement of their individual American flag carried by elementary school students in the parade.

All Veterans Invited

Invited to march by the Owego Veterans Memorial Committee are all veterans of all war eras, especially Veterans of Modern Warfare with military service from 1990 – the time of the Persian Gulf War, which ushered in a new era of modern warfare – through the present, including the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Female veterans are encouraged to parade.

Also invited to parade are all Gold Star Mothers and families and all surviving former POWs and their families and families of deceased POWs. Former POWs are urged to make their presence known to parade officials. Consider bringing a sign to the parade to indicate your honored status.

All veterans may wear their military uniforms. Veterans with valor honors including Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Silver Star are reminded to proudly wear their medals for the parade and remembrance service. Share the meaning of the medals with the children.

Tioga County hopes to be designated a Purple Heart County. Living veterans are urged to identify themselves. Families of deceased veterans with Purple Hearts are also asked to make this fact known.

Military home on leave are welcome to join veterans from service with the National Guard, Afghanistan, Iraq, Desert Storm, Vietnam, Korea and World War II to parade to receive the heartfelt gratitude of the community.

Sunday Church 

On Sunday, church pastors are asked to have their congregations thank veterans attending church for their service and sacrifice, and remember those who have fallen. Churches are asked to develop from their congregation an Honor Roll of Fallen Heroes and read their honored names. Pastors are also requested to invite their church members to march in Monday’s parade behind their church banner.

Flags at Half Staff 

Memorial Day 2015 in Owego dawns with American flags, the POW/MIA flag and New York State flag at half-staff until noon over the Civil War Union Memorial and the Tioga County Veterans Memorials.

The U.S. Flag only flies at half-staff for the first half of the day, and then is raised to full height from noon to sundown. The unique custom honors the war dead for the morning, and living veterans for the rest of the day. The noon flag raising symbolized the persistence of the nation in the face of loss.

Roll Call of Honor  

Roll Call of Honor – Remembering and Honoring deceased Tioga County veterans – starts at 8 a.m., an hour earlier than last year, at the Tioga County Veterans Memorial. Reading of the veterans’ names aloud by volunteers Mary Beth Jones of the Tioga County Courier and JoAnn Walter of the Owego Pennysaver and Riverside Cemetery, Apalachin.

Cemetery Masses 

Priests of Blessed Trinity and St. Patrick’s Parishes will celebrate two Memorial Day Morning Masses at 9 a.m. in parish cemeteries – St. Patrick’s Cemetery at Rt. 17C Town of Tioga, and St. James Cemetery in Waverly. The Reading of Honored Names of Buried Veterans will be included in the service.

Graves Honored 

Before the parade, the Glenn A. Warner Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1371 and Ladies Auxiliary will honor the grave of one of their deceased members. VFW Auxiliary member Joyce Guiles will be remembered in Tioga Cemetery. Former Tioga County Veterans Service Officer, VFW Quartermaster and Korean War combat veteran Jack Howie, buried in Oneonta, will be honored at a special 9:30 a.m. ceremony at the Tioga County Veterans Memorial.

Organizations Invited to Parade 

In downtown Owego, the parade will step off at 10:30 a.m. from the Owego Police Station on Temple Street. Those marching must line up on Temple Street by the Presbyterian Church before 10:25 a.m. Parade route is Temple to North to Main to Paige (past the VFW) to Front (past the American Legion) to the Tioga County Veterans Memorial on the south lawn of the Tioga County Courthouse.

Parade Marshall John Loftus needs marching units to join the Honor Guards and veterans from the Glenn A. Warner Post 1371, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 1371 Men’s Auxiliary, Chapter 480 Vietnam Veterans of America, Tioga Post 401 American Legion and Ladies Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion and Tioga County Marine Corps League.

Also marching the Owego Elks Lodge, the Owego Free Academy Marching Band, students from St. Patrick’s, Zion Lutheran and Owego Apalachin Elementary and Middle Schools and Owego Free Academy, the Civil Air Patrol and the Owego Gymnastics and Activities Center.

Also, Civil War units including the 137th New York Volunteer Infantry and Tent 2, Daughters of Union Civil War Veterans who will pass out small American flags to children along the parade route.

Line Streets for Parade 

The public is encouraged to line the streets of the parade route. As the American flag passes, remember to stand to salute or place your hand over your heart. The Owego Free Academy Marching Band will play patriotic music in the parade and the Armed Forces Service Songs, National Anthem and “Salute to America’s Finest” at the park.

Wreath Laying 

The Memorial Day Wreath Laying Ceremony will honor all those including the 170 from Tioga County who gave the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country.

Gold Star Mothers and Families are invited to join veterans and auxiliary members to lay the Red, White and Blue floral tributes in front of the Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Korea, Tioga County, World War II and World War I Memorials and Tioga County Union Memorial. Navy fallen heroes will be remembered by a wreath thrown upon the waters of the Susquehanna River from the west side of the Court Street Bridge.

Memorial Update 

Brothers Bill and John Chandler updated the Tioga County Veterans Memorial for Memorial Day 2014.

The Chandlers added a Second World War II Monument with the honored names not on the original and an Iraq and Afghanistan Monument. In center front there is a new Monument honoring four Tioga County Medal of Honor Recipients. This is placed on a stone base. On top are a Bronze Statue of A War Memorial Battle Cross Boot, Rifle and Helmet. A Tioga County War Service Medal is attached.

Two new flagpoles fly the American flag. Poles above the monuments fly one of the five branches of service flag for Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.

Thanks for Sound 

Owego’s Memorial Day officials thank Gordie Ichikawa of T&K Communications Systems of Owego for faithfully providing sound for the Memorial Day events at the Tioga County Veterans Memorial.

Flags In 

A decades old ceremony known as “Flags In” marked the beginning of Memorial Day activities in Tioga County. The mission: to place an American flag on each and every veteran gravesite, leaving no veteran forgotten. Legion Adjutant Tom Simons coordinated flag procurement and distribution.

“Flags In” details of veterans from American Legion Posts in Owego, Candor, Nichols and Waverly, and VFW Posts in Owego, Waverly and Spencer Van Etten, as well as their Ladies and Men’s Auxiliaries and Sons of the American Legion and Tioga Marine Corps League, will place small American flags on veteran headstones in 100 cemeteries. Scouts, school children, volunteers and families will join veterans.

The Men’s Auxiliary of the Glenn A. Warner Post 1371 Veterans of Foreign Wars and Boy Scout Troop 60 placed flags on veteran graves in Historic Evergreen Cemetery. Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 480 placed flags on veteran graves in Tioga Cemetery. American Legion Post 401 placed flags in veteran graves in the Towns of Owego and Tioga. Newark Valley Boy Scouts placed flags in Newark Valley area cemeteries including Hope Cemetery.

Students Place Flags  

In St. Patrick’s Cemetery, fifth grade students of teacher and Principal Paula Smith held “Flags In” at veteran graves. Iraq Gold Star Mother Barbara Bilbrey described Remembrance on Memorial Day from a mother’s perspective next to the grave of her Iraq Fallen Hero son 21-year-old Army Specialist Charles Bilbrey Jr., killed July 26, 2007, when an improvised explosive device exploded near his Humvee vehicle. He is the recipient of the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

In Riverside Cemetery on Marshland Road, Apalachin, Apalachin Girl Scout Troop 425 will place flags near the headstone of over 200 veterans. Troop Leader Jennifer Werner has her Brownies and Juniors precede “Flags in” with a ceremony remembering all veterans.

Memorial Day Tributes

Chet and Anita Harding will be placing 50 wreaths and 35 new flag holders in cemeteries throughout Tioga County and split up for veterans of all eras and wars.

Honor Roll at Schools and Churches 

Each church and school in Tioga County is asked to remember his or her fallen heroes. Volunteers are needed to develop a memorial list of those who made the supreme sacrifice. What is available could be used during services over the Memorial Day weekend.

Visit Civil War Exhibit at Museum 

After the Rifle Salute and Taps on the Court Street Bridge, walk a short distance down Front Street to see the Civil War Exhibit at the Tioga County Historical Society and Museum. An Honor Guard will recognize and thank all those in Tioga County who have served this nation and protected American Freedom. Visit www.tiogahistory.org for details.

Who to Contact 

If you wish more information about being part of Owego’s Memorial Day parade, contact VFW Post 1371 Memorial Day Chairman Jim Raftis at 687-4229 or email jaftis2@sty.rr.com; or Tioga County New Veterans Memorial Chairman Bill Chandler at 222-6357 or on Facebook.