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The VFW Post 3719 led the Memorial Day parade through Winchester Center on Monday, May 25 to honor those who served and died in the U.S. military.
Attendees and marchers gathered in front of the Winchester Center MBTA station at 9 a.m. before walking down Laraway Street at 9:15 a.m. The parade stopped briefly at the World War I Memorial before walking to the Edward F. O’Connell Veterans Memorial.
The parade was attended by over 100 people, including both marchers and onlookers.
The marchers included VFW Post Commander James Saunders, Auxiliary President Margie Labedz, VFW Color Guard, Veterans Contingent, Open Car-Ladies Aux, Westford Pipes and Drums, the Sheriff’s Department, Police Color Guard, Fire Department Contingent, town officials, elementary school students, the high school marching band, local scouting troops, Masons and the fireman’s band.
Onlookers and marchers then entered Town Hall auditorium due to the heavy rain for Memorial Day ceremonies to honor veterans and service members, as well as recognize several Winchester residents for their continuing contributions to the event.
The ceremony speakers included Barbara O’Connell, the Rev. Earl Darlington, Commander Greg Quill, Saunders, sixth-grader Marie Ferrell, Select Board Vice President William McGonigle, and Al Wile.
Quill recognized four Winchester High School students who are pursuing careers in the military: Carson Sarpong, Noah Dollard, Gianni DePrimeo and Thomas Donlan.
Sarpong plans to study engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology while pursuing ROTC. Dollard, who has family who served in the Army and Air Force, plans to study mechanical engineering on his journey to become a naval aviator.
After graduation, DePrimeo, inspired by the legacy of his great-grandfather and grandfather, will be heading to the Naval Academy. Donlan will be serving the nation as part of the Coast Guard, entering the Coast Guard Academy.
“It feels really great to be recognized by my community,” DePrimeo said.
Ferrell, a sixth-grader at McCall Middle School, received a $500 prize for her poem, which won the VFW Post’s Memorial Day student essay contest. She was invited to deliver her poem for the audience.
The VFW Post also recognized Mai Harrison, a member of the parade committee, for her work organizing the parade.Harrison’s involvement with the parade spans over a decade, and she was the one first to coordinate schools' involvement in the parade.
“It’s so kind of them,” Harrison said. “It’s an honor to be recognized by these amazing veterans.”
Changes in the parade
Students’ involvement in the parade has been one change to the event over the years.
The VFW’s quartermaster, William Carroll, who has been part of the organization for 30 years, has watched how the parade has fluctuated over the years.
When he first started, the parade was longer and went through multiple towns. But as the older generation of veterans passed or left the VFW, the parade continued in a small capacity.
“The point is we still do it,” Carroll said.
Quill has been a member of the VFW Post for 23 years and has served as the parade marshal for 18 years. He’s in charge of the planning and execution of both the Memorial Day and the Veterans Day parades.
He also remembers how far the parade has come. He and other committee members are working to bring it back to what it was.
“It’s been important to the VFW and the community to keep it going,” Quill said.
O’Connell and Labedz were also honored. They have been long-standing members of the VFW.
O’Connell has been an active member of the Winchester community since her family moved in 1967, and she’s been organizing VFW parades for 20 years.
Labedz, who is 100 years old and comes from a long line of veterans, has been involved with the VFW Post for almost 50 years. Even before then, she did performances for troops while in high school.
“It’s my pleasure to be doing this for the troops,” Labedz said
The event concluded with an invitation to the VFW Post 3719 for refreshments.
Tavishi Chattopadhyay is a journalism student at Boston University.
