Despite intermittent drizzle and gray clouds looming overhead, Harpswell residents showed up on Route 123 for the annual Memorial Day parade and ceremony to honor those who lost their lives in the military.
Crowds of people carrying American flags and wearing raincoats cheered on the parade before making their way to the 1759 meetinghouse for a ceremony that included speakers, a performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and a rifle salute.
“I’ve been to 50 states and I’ve been in a lot of cities, but it’s small communities like this that remind me of what America was like when it first started,” said Max Merrill, a pastor and U.S. Navy veteran of the Vietnam War who was a guest speaker at the ceremony.
The remembrances began earlier in the morning at the Ewing Narrows Bridge, where American Legion Post 171 performed a wreath-tossing ceremony to honor those lost at sea.
Legion members then led the parade through Harpswell Center with flags and rifles in hand.
The Mt. Ararat High School and Middle School marching bands energized the event, while young paradegoers engaged in mad scrambles for candy thrown from firetrucks at the rear.
During Merrill’s speech, he said it is easy to empathize with someone who uses a wheelchair or has a cast because their injuries are visible, but that is not the case for many veterans.
“A lot of veterans have wounds that you cannot see, and they’re hurting,” Merrill said. “I cannot unsee what I saw in Vietnam, a year in Da Nang. I can’t. I can’t communicate that to you.”
Alpha Williams, former command sergeant major of the Maine Army National Guard’s 133rd Engineer Battalion and another speaker at the ceremony, emphasized the sacrifices of not only servicemen and women but also their families.
“Memorial Day is often looked at as the start of summer, a day off from work to have a barbecue and spend time with friends and family,” Williams said. “However, for those of you that are here today, you understand that it is much more than that.”
Michael Doyle, commander of American Legion Post 171, said that on Memorial Day, he thinks of his father and brothers who served in the military. “And they’re gone. I miss them,” he said.
Doyle said the right to assemble for the parade and ceremony was protected by “brave people, men and women, who gave the ultimate sacrifice so you can enjoy yourselves. Please think of them as you celebrate the holiday.”
