Beginning with a concert on Sunday, May 29, Fanwood residents will once again pause to pay respect to the men and women who served, and those who gave their lives, in the U.S. armed forces throughout the nation’s history.
This year’s theme is “America, the Beautiful.” The stirring song’s third stanza pays tribute to the nation’s fallen heroes. The song reminds us, “Oh beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife. Who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life.”
The weekend’s activities will recognize the dedication, commitment and sacrifice of the residents of Fanwood and Scotch Plains who served in the United States Armed Forces. Joe McCourt of Scotch Plains, a Vietnam War Army veteran, will be the grand marshal of the parade.
The weekend will begin with a two-hour Sunday evening concert featuring patriotic music performed by the Westfield Community Band. For the first time in the concert’s five-year-history, it will move from Fanwood to the Alan Augustine Village Green on Park Avenue, adjacent to the Scotch Plains Municipal Building. In addition to the music, the program will once again include the reading of wartime letters written by members of the United States military to their loved ones back home.
“I’m inviting Fanwood and area residents to bring their families for an evening filled with patriotic music honoring the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice,” Fanwood Mayor Colleen Mahr said. “This concert is a wonderful way to remind us what makes being an American so special,” she added.
On Monday, the annual memorial service for the fallen will take place at the Fanwood Memorial Library at 9 a.m. After a brief ceremony in downtown Scotch Plains, the parade will step off from the Scotch Plains Municipal Building at 10:45 a.m., making its way down Martine Avenue to Fanwood’s LaGrande Park.
