“Lake George American Legion has been performing services in memory of their lost comrades every year since 1921,” says Legion administrator Angela Vernum. “Each year, the people change, the procedures may be a little different, but the spirit remains the same.” Saturday, May 28, the Legion’s Memorial Day 2022 remembrance began with a parade along Beach Road and Canada Street followed by a wreath-laying ceremony in Shepard Park.
“We at the American Legion wish all the families will continue to teach the children why we gather each year to honor the dead of our wars. We hope they teach them of the love of country and respect of our flag passed on for generations to come. We have armed forces stationed around the world to ensure our homes are safe. Our soldiers make their beds on every continent. Our sailors and marines and their ships maintain a presence on every ocean and sea. Our Air Force guards us from above. We have military forces stationed in many parts of the world that puts them in harm’s way. Many more are stationed at locations far from their families and homes. Daily we read of those wounded or killed as they serve to protect us. On this Memorial Day, as we remember those we have lost, let us also pray that those that guard our nation, wherever they are stationed, come home to their families safely.” – Angela Vernum
The Lake George Steamboat Company’s newly refurbished 1957 calliope truck led the Memorial Day 2022 parade through Lake George Village. Captain Anthony Benedetto played the calliope while Captain Victor Bates drove the truck.
U.S.M.C. Sniper Sgt. Eddie Ryan, pictured here flanked by his parents Angela and Chris Ryan, was Parade Grand Marshall of the Lake George American Legion Post 374 Memorial Day 2022 parade. In 2005, Sgt. Ryan was wounded in action while on his third tour of duty in Iraq.
Eddie Ryan’s father, Chris Ryan, addressed those attending the Memorial Day ceremony saying:
“Greater love has no man than this, that a man will lay his life down for his friends. It’s a Bible verse, John 15:13. That’s who we’re here for today, Memorial Day. For me to stand here and tell a story of Eddie, we don’t want to take away from the Gold Star parents. Their kids never made it back home. We know several of them. Several of them are our close friends that never got a chance to say goodbye to their child, and that’s who we’re here for, to celebrate our freedom and thank them for their lives given for us.”
The Lake George High School choir sang, “If I had the Wings of a Dove.” Their performance was followed by the wreath-laying ceremony and three-volley salute fired by the Hudson Falls American Legion Post 574. The ceremonies concluded with the Lake George Junior/Senior High School Band playing “Oh, Canada” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
American Legion Post 374 Commander Randy Powell (pictured here on the right) lays a wreath on the Veterans Memorial in Shepard Park. Heather Powell, Vice President of the Legion’s Auxiliary, Ike Bosford, Son’s of the American Legion, and John Cocozza-Hill of the Lake George Fire Department also placed wreaths.
It sounds as if it was a beautiful ceremony and a grand parade. Thank you, Lake George Examiner, for the write-up and the photos. I wish I could have been there.