Memorial Day is a day set aside to remember and honor the more than 1.3 million Americans who gave their lives in service to our nation since its birth in 1775.
Originally called Decoration Day, the holiday was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was first observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.
Memorial Day this year falls on its traditional date, May 30. (Since 1971 it has been observed on the last Monday in May pursuant to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.)
The tradition has been carried on through generations, in times of war and peace, and lives on in official observances in Riverhead and across the North Fork each Memorial Day.
This year’s Memorial Day observances in Riverhead:
Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department Memorial Service at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverside will be held today at 11 a.m.
Peconic Bay Medical Center Memorial Service today at 12 noon at the hospital’s front entrance.
Wading River Cemetery flag placement on veterans’ graves tomorrow at 10 a.m.
Riverhead Combined Veterans Committee Memorial Day Parade and Ceremonies Monday beginning at 10 a.m. The parade steps off on Osborn Avenue at the corner of Pulaski Street. It proceeds down Osborn to Court Street for services and a wreath-laying ceremony at the World War I monument. From there, the parade continues east on Main Street to Roanoke Avenue, heads north on Roanoke to St. John’s Cemetery for another wreath-laying ceremony, then continues on Roanoke to Pulaski Street. After a wreath-laying ceremony at Riverhead Cemetery, the procession continues to the War Memorial on the corner of Pulaski Street and Osborn Avenue, where the day’s main ceremonies conclude. A ceremony follows immediately afterward at St. Isidore’s Cemetery on Horton Avenue.
Calverton National Cemetery Memorial Day ceremonies begin at 1 p.m. Monday.
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