Photo from a previous Memorial Day parade in Owego, N.Y. (File Photo)
Only one full day is dedicated to honor the ultimate sacrifices made by Americans in war – Memorial Day. Owego/Tioga County’s Memorial Day Parade at 10:30 a.m. and Service of Remembrance at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 30, 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 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 again 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.
Each school in Tioga County is asked to remember their fallen heroes. Volunteer 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.
Memorial Day 2016 in Owego dawns with American flags, the POW/MIA flag and New York State flag at half-staff until noon over the Tioga County Civil War Union Memorial and the Tioga County Veterans Memorials.
Roll Call of honor – Remembering and Honoring deceased veterans eternally sleeping in Tioga County cemeteries starts at 8 a.m. at the Tioga County Veterans Memorial. Honored names of veterans are read aloud by Mary Beth Jones, Tioga County Courier editor; and JoAnn Walter, Owego Pennysaver correspondent and Trustee of Riverside Cemetery-Apalachin.
Before the parade, the Glenn A. Warner Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1371 and their Ladies Auxiliary will each honor the grave of one of their deceased members – WWII POW Army Pfc. LaVere “Si” Courtright in Hope Cemetery-Newark Valley and Past VFW Ladies Auxiliary President Barb Tyler in Tioga Cemetery.
In accordance with the new Diocese of Rochester Sacramental Policies, Memorial Day Masses will no longer be held outdoors (i.e. in the cemeteries) as has been done in the past.
This year two Memorial Day Masses will be celebrated in church. Father Thomas Valenti at 8:30 a.m. at St. James Church-Waverly and Father Peter Van Lieshout at 9 a.m. at St. Patrick’s Church-Owego. The Reading of Honored Names of Buried Veterans will be included in the services.
The downtown parade welcomes all male and female veterans from all war eras. Strongly encouraged are Veterans of Modern Warfare. Their military service from 1990 – the time of the Persian Gulf War, which ushered in a new era of modern warfare – followed by Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through the present.
Gold Star Mothers and families invited. Also all surviving former POWs and their families and families of deceased POWs. Former POWs are urged to make their presence known to parade officials for appropriate recognition.
Wear your military uniforms. Veterans with valor honors such as Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Silver Star are reminded to proudly wear their medals and service ribbons in the parade and remembrance service. Share the meaning of your medals with the children.
Tioga County hopes to be designated a Purple Heart County. Living veterans with Purple Hearts 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 active Army Reserve and National Guard and veterans of Afghanistan, Iraq, Desert Storm, Vietnam, Korea and World War II in the parade and receive the heartfelt gratitude of the community.
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 side of the Presbyterian Church before 10:25 a.m. Parade route is Temple to North to Main (past the VFW) to Paige to Front (past the American Legion), to the Tioga County Veterans Memorial on the south lawn of the Tioga County Court House.
The Parade Marshall needs marching units to line up with the Honor Guards and veterans from the Glenn A. Warner Post 1371, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 1371 Men’s Auxiliary and Ladies Auxiliary, Chapter 480 Vietnam Veterans of America, Tioga Post 401 American Legion and Ladies Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion, Tioga County Marine Corps League and Veterans of Modern Warfare of Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Also marching will be the Owego Elks Lodge, the Owego Free Academy Parade Band, students from Zion Lutheran and Owego Apalachin Elementary and Middle Schools and Owego Free Academy, the Civil Air Patrol, the Owego Gymnastics and Activities Center, the National Guard’s 204th Engineer Battalion vehicles and Army Reserves.
Also, for the third consecutive year 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.
Also invited are Boy Scout Troops 60 and 38 and 37, Newark Valley Troop 30 and others, Girls Scouts, Brownies and Cub Scout Packs, Angels Over Iraq/Afghanistan, Moose, Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions, elected officials from the Village and Town of Owego and Tioga County, School Board members from Owego-Apalachin, Tioga Central, Candor Central and Spencer Van Etten, Emergency Squads and volunteer fire departments from Owego, Campville, Southside, Apalachin, Candor, Newark Valley and Berkshire.
This is an open invitation to all community groups – church, school, civic, fraternal and youth sports leagues, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of the American Revolution, all Tioga County law enforcement agencies and State Police, fire departments and emergency squads and groups not specifically mentioned who would like to honor Americans who died for their country.
Patriotic citizens may build a float with the theme of “Remembrance.” An abundance of American flags in the parade and along the five street parade route would be greatly appreciated.
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. Highlights of the Service of Remembrance at the Tioga County Veterans Memorial on the south lawn of the Tioga County Court House:
Wreath Laying Ceremony by Gold Star Families, the Tioga County Marine Corps League and veterans of VMW of Iraq, Afghanistan Vietnam, Korea and World War II and representatives of the American Legion Post 401, Glenn A. Warner Post 1371, Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 480 and Veterans of Modern Warfare of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Invocation by Father Peter Van Lieshout, Parochial Vicar of St. Patrick’s-Owego and Blessed Trinity-Tioga County. National Anthem by the Owego Free Academy Parade Band. Roll Call of Honor – the Reading by Boy Scout Troop 60 of 170 Honored Names of Tioga County’s Fallen Heroes and the Placement of their American flag carried by Owego Elementary School students in the parade.
The Memorial Day Wreath Laying Ceremony at the memorials continues to honor the 170 Fallen Heroes from Tioga County who gave the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country.
Gold Star Mothers and Families may 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 Civil War Union Memorial.
The OFA Parade Band plays the National Anthem and later a Medley “Salute to America’s Finest.” The Armed Forces songs – Caisson Song (Army), Anchors Aweigh (Navy), Semper Paratus (Coast Guard), Marines’ Hymn 9 Marines) and the U.S. Air Force March (Air Force).
Roll Call of Honor of Names of Deceased Veterans since last Veterans Day.
The Civil War Remembrance Ceremony honors the Tioga County Civil War Fallen Heroes.
Very special today the 125th Anniversary of the Tioga County Union Memorial. 2nd Lt. Ben Gardner will lead the 137th New York Volunteer Infantry and Bonnie Baker Duff will preside with her Daughters of the Union Veterans at the anniversary Ceremony. Newark Valley Historian Jerry Marsh will relate the 500 Tioga County losses in the Civil War. A Rifle Salute by the 137th.
Navy Burial at Sea Wreath Ceremony moves from the park to the west side of the Court Street Bridge. Navy fallen heroes remembered when Navy veteran Mike Riggs casts a wreath upon the waters of the Susquehanna River. You may watch from Draper Park. From the alcove of the bridge, Memorial Day 2016 concludes with a Rifle Salute by the Post 1371 VFW Honor Guard and Taps by an OFA Bugler.
The Public Address System is very important for Owego’s Memorial Day. Veterans thank Gordon Ichikawa of T&K Communications Systems of Owego for faithfully providing sound for the Memorial Day events at the Tioga County Veterans Memorial. Gordon is following in the footsteps of his decorated combat veteran father. Both father and son have provided sound for years.
Gordon is the son of the late 89-yearold Past Post 1371 Commander Tom Ichikawa. In WWII, Tommy was a Battalion Combat Radio Sergeant for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the most decorated unit of its size and duration in US Army history. The native U.S. citizen born of immigrant Japanese parents received the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart. He enlisted Dec. 8, 1941.
Gordon’s mother, 98-year-old Kiyo Ichikawa, died Jan. 25, 2016. With other Japanese Americana she spent three years in concentration camps in California and Idaho. Tommy and Kiyo Ichikawa relocated to Owego in the early 1960’s.
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 is a Bronze Statue of A War Memorial Battle Cross Boot, Rifle and Helmet. A Tioga County War Service Medal is attached.
Two new flag poles 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.
A decades old ceremony known as “Flags In” marked the beginning of Memorial Day activities in Tioga County. Legion Adjutant Tom Simons coordinated flag procurement and distribution.
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 Scout Troop 30 s placed flags from Flemingville to Richford including Hope Cemetery-Newark Valley and Evergreen Cemetery-Berkshire.
In St. Patrick’s Cemetery, the Youth Ministry of St. Patrick’s-Owego and St. Margaret Mary-Apalachin held their first “Flags In” ceremony at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 15. The youth have been organized by their Director Annette Larrabee.
Iraq Gold Star Mother Barbara Bilbrey described daily Remembrance of Memorial Day from a mother’s perspective. She knelt and stood by 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 blew up near his Humvee. The Owego Free Academy graduate, who would have been 30 on May 10, is the posthumous recipient of the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his Iraq Freedom heroism.
In Riverside Cemetery on Marshland Road, Apalachin Girl Scout Troop 425 places 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.
Chet and Anita Harding of Project Homecoming will mark a decade long milestone. They will surpass 500 wreaths and flag holders placed.
Before Memorial Day, around 50 wreaths and flag holders were in cemeteries throughout Tioga County. They’re split up for veterans of all eras and wars.
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.
Community donations would be appreciated to help pay for flags honoring Fallen Heroes on the Court Street Bridge and for memorial wreaths remembering all veterans at the Tioga County Veterans Memorial and Tioga County Civil War Union Memorial.
Also, volunteer a half hour of your time to be the Memorial Day Parade Organizer and Starter from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Monday, May 30.
If you wish more information about being part of Owego’s Memorial Day parade, contact VFW Post 1371 Memorial Day Chairman Jim Raftis by email to jaftis2@sty.rr.com or call 687-4229.
