The parade featured the Matthew Cleary Post Color Guard and members, the Caledonia VFW Post 10844, Caledonia and Mumford Fire Departments, Cal-Mum High School Marching Band, CM Youth Baseball/Softball, Boy Scouts, and Kelley’s Heroes Marching Band.

   Legion Commander Mel Keenan officiated over the ceremony held at the Legion War Memorial following the parade. Winners in this year’s essay contest were: Rochelle Greek – 3rd place, Amanda Callanan – 2nd place and Ashley Cummings – 1st place. You can read Ashley’s essay on Memorial Day below. The Sons of the American Legion Commander Mike Pullyblank announced the winners of the SAL Poster Contest for elementary fourth grade students. The winners were Christina Sisson, Sarah Doyle, Kyle Kline and Emilija Naujokas.

   This year’s guest speaker, Robert Louis Rapone, is a Mumford native who now lives in Hilton with his wife and two daughters. Following his graduation from Cal-Mum High School in 1965, Rapone was soon drafted into the U.S. Army. Following basic training and jump school, he served two tours in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Brigade as a Ranger on Recon Patrol.

    Today Bob is a member of The Sons of American Revolution, The Vietnam Veterans of America, Life Member of the Disabled American Veterans, Life Member and Past Commander of the Hilton/Parma VFW and Matthew Cleary Post 255.

   His moving address centered around being a community that cares enough to give honor and respect to those who have served in the U.S. Military, who are serving in the military and especially to those who made the supreme sacrifice and gave their lives for their country. Rapone told the crowd that Memorial Day is a time to celebrate the service men and women who have answered the call of duty to their country, not a celebration of war. He closed by reminding people to always honor their military memorials, monuments and cemeteries and to never allow anything to desecrate them.

   Commander Keenan then presented the following continuous membership awards. These certificates come from the American Legion National Headquarters in Indianapolis. They Read in Part: Issued in Grateful Appreciation for Faithful and Dedicated Allegiance to the Ideals of the American Legion: Art Vokes 50-year (posthumously) Accepting for his father was Sons of the American Legion member Rick Vokes. Walter "Babe" Gilbert 50-years, Fernando Bonacquisti 60-years, Jim Henry 60-years and Don Cunningham 60-years. Post Chaplain Jim O’Donoghue closed with the benediction.

"What Memorial Day Means To Me"
by Ashley Cummings

   "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

- John F. Kennedy

   This quotation sums up what Memorial Day means to me. It's about soldiers who fought for our freedom. It's about the pain suffered for us, so we could remain independent. It's about the struggle and the tears, and it's really about remembering.

   Memorial Day, to me, used to be just another day. My family and I would go to the parade, and my brother and I would fight over who got to sit on dad's shoulders. I remember the showers of colorful candy, and the great music. I idolized the "big kids" who marched in the parade. I wanted to be just like them, and one day I really was. As I grew up I joined the High School Marching Band. I carried my instrument along, and thought it was so neat to be playing for all those people. I'd wave to the people I knew, and felt like a real celebrity.

   That same day, when the ceremony finally began and the words started flowing, it hit me- Memorial Day was not just an ordinary day. I remember listening to kids, a little older than myself, explain what Memorial Day meant to them; I thought, "that could be me one day." I listened to the speakers talk about Memorial Day, and about remembering the fallen. I especially remember the list of names read off one by one, of those who had died. That really got to me. Before, I didn't understand that some of those names were my family, my blood. I didn't know how many had died for me; I couldn't comprehend it. After the speeches ended and the bands played, the taps started. This time it wasn't just "the neat trumpets doing their cool thing at the end of the parade," it had a meaning. It was a time to remember those who died for our country, a time to reflect on this special day.

   Memorial Day became very important to me. I gained a greater respect for my grandfather, a World War II and Korean War veteran. I never really understood how lucky he was to survive those wars. All I knew was that he walked with a limp due to an injury; one that came from saving the lives of many people, by stepping on a grenade. I finally began to realize how hard this day must be for him. How could he bear to remember his comrades, and live with that injury for the rest of his life, when he couldn't even talk about the wars? In a way Memorial Day made me understand how strong he and other veterans are.

   The point I'm trying to get across is the real meaning of Memorial Day. It's not about the trivial aspects; it's about remembering. People need to remember those who fought for them- the men and women who gave their lives to serve our country. It's about the fallen heroes, and the courageous troops who died, so we could live.