Sag Harbor Observes Memorial Day

A large crowd braved the threat of rain to fill Sag Harbor’s Marine Park on Monday morning for the village’s annual Memorial Day observance, at which Paul Babcock, a Sag Harbor native and U.S. Air Force veteran, gave the keynote address.

Master of ceremonies Paul Gerecke noted that Babcock flew more than 1,300 combat hours as a forward air controller in an O1E Bird Dog plane, winning the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with 13 oakleaf clusters, and Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.

The Bird Dog was a single-engine plane manufactured by Cessna. Its pilots were required to fly at low altitudes over enemy positions to help direct American artillery fire.

In his address, Babcock described “the standards of conduct and character we have embedded in our Constitution,” which, he said, “is the fulcrum of our American culture and an oracle of, and for, high standards of being and behavior.”

He said it was the belief in upholding those standards that help motivate front-line troops to face the horrors of combat, and he described those soldiers as “the bedrock upon which the survival of our culture relies” because of their commitment.

Babcock said strong family values and community effort were required to educate the young, so they understand that code of conduct. “If they fail in this transfer process, our democratic republic will most likely dissolve into the chaos we are experiencing in our institutions, in our streets, and in our backyards today,” he said.

He called for an improved effort in schools to teach critical thinking skills, civics, and American history or the country would face a dwindling number of patriots willing to fight for freedom.

The Memorial Day observance began with a parade that stepped off from the World War I monument at Main Street and Jermain Avenue. The monument had been decorated with poppies by the American Legion Auxiliary, and Rachel Monaco, a Pierson student, read the poem, “In Flanders Fields.”

The parade, which was led by veterans, included members of the American Legion’s women’s auxiliary, local lawmakers, the Sag Harbor Fire Department, the Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Boy Scout Troop 455, and the Pierson High School Band.

Wreaths were left at the World War I monument and the Civil War monument, where U.S. Army veteran Daniel Mulvihill read “General Logan’s Order,” which is recognized as the founding of the Memorial Day observance.

The parade also paused for a salute at the Municipal Building firehouse, where Chief Andrew Blodorn spoke about village firefighters, who had given their lives in war, and Chaplain Robert Kisla read the Firefighter’s Prayer. The parade also stopped at the Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter Veterans Memorial Bridge before concluding at Marine Park.

American Legion Chaplain Bill Schildknecht gave a benediction, Monaco read “The Gettysburg Address,” and a wreath was placed in the harbor for those who were lost at sea and additional wreaths were left in memory of those who died in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

The Sag Harbor Community Band performed on Main Street and again at Marine Park. The Sag Harbor High School Choir, under the direction of Susan Nicoletti, led the crowd in “The Star Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful.”