Warwick honors military servicemen

WARWICK-As if it was deliberately planned that way, the rain held off until just a few minutes after the May 31 Memorial Day ceremonies had ended at Veterans Memorial Park. The day's events began with the traditional parade down Main Street and on to Warwick Cemetery. Grand Marshal Don McFarland, a veteran of the Navy Air Corps during World War II, led the line of march. Col. James Stewart, the highest-ranking member of a well-known Warwick family of military servicemen, returned from active duty to his hometown to march with the color guard. At Warwick Cemetery, Supervisor Michael Sweeton, Mayor Michael Newhard and Guest Speaker Rev. Duncan Truman all paid tribute to the fallen heroes of all the wars America has fought. Supervisor Sweeton read a letter from Congresswoman Sue Kelly that praised those who gave their lives for freedom. Mayor Newhard also thanked the veterans who are still with us for sponsoring the Memorial Day ceremonies and keeping the memory of their fallen comrades alive. "They make sure that we are reminded," he said, "that our freedoms should not be taken for granted." Rev. Duncan, pastor of the New Milford Methodist Church and a World War II veteran who fought at Normandy and in the famous Battle of the Bulge, asked the audience to take a journey with him back to the battlefield. "Our comrades were sometimes closer to us than our own brothers," he said. "We could not be sure we would have food the next day. We could be sure of only one thing - that we had one another." The ceremonies at Warwick Cemetery were followed by services at St. Stephen's Cemetery, which were conducted by Father Michael McLoughlin, pastor of the Church of St. Stephen, the First Martyr. The parade then continued down Forester Avenue to the Firemen's Monument at Veterans Memorial Park where members of the Warwick Volunteer Fire Department conducted a memorial service which included the reading of the "Fireman's Prayer" by Rev. Chris Yount, pastor of Warwick's United Methodist Church.