It has been announced that the Memorial Day Parade in Pearl River will be held; this
is the first physical parade to be held since the COVID crisis and is a welcome sign of a return to ‘normalcy’. However, there is one bit of ‘normalcy’ we want to change. In the past, we have had some meager Division 3 participation in the parade. Sadly, since the last time we marched we have lost several members who regularly made the effort to march on Memorial Day: Phil Sheridan, Rich Lenihan, George Lahey, Jack O’Connor to name a few. It would be a shame if we did not put out a contingent on Memorial Day in their honor and representative of the size and influence that Division 3 has in Pearl River – please find the hour or so, if you could show up. It’s a great opportunity to model what’s important to our children, too.
Memorial Day should hold a special meaning for us: 257 awardees of the Medal of Honor list
“Ireland” as their birthplace, including 5 who were awarded the medal twice. We have an
obligation to remember the thousands of Irish Americans who wear their green every day – the
sod above their graves for America. We form up at Key Bank the morning of Memorial Day, and
we do ask if people would respect the solemnity of the day wearing business casual attire of
shirt and slacks rather than jeans. We’ll confirming timing via email in advance of the weekend.