Community Corner

70th Annual Memorial Day Parade in Syosset

The rain retreats just in time for sunny skies at this year's thank-you to the veterans.

The message at the yesterday was strong: don’t forget the troops. Parade organizer and WW II veteran Gus Scutari implored the crowd gathered for the closing ceremony at the Memorial Garden on Underhill Boulevard to not lose sight of the past and present sacrifices of our servicemen and women who fight for our freedom while we celebrate at home.

“Although today we’re all laughing and enjoying ourselves, it’s still a memorial,” said Scutari, a VFW and American Legion member who has been organizing the parade for over two decades. “Sometimes I think we don’t realize there’s a war going on because it’s so comfortable over here, but some of the boys are over there losing their lives at this very minute.”

At the ceremony religious leaders, local officials, and representatives of the and , in charge of this year’s event, and said a few words for the troops followed by a four-gun salute and the raising of the flag. To highlight the occasion, Syosset high school students Michelle Sena, Laura Whorlow, Jeanine Mojum gave a beautiful performance of God Bless America while the crowd waved miniature American flags given out by the American Legion.

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Marine Corps First Lieutenant Christian Kapey, who grew up in Syosset, flew in for the weekend from pilot training in Texas to lead the parade for the tenth year. He knows the profound reality of war all too well. When he joined the Marines ten years ago one of his first duties was to inform Long Island families that their loved ones had died in battle, a responsibility he called “tough, but an honor.”

“It’s nothing you can prepare for,” he said. “You have to try to stay strong for the families.”

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Another veteran at the parade, Syosset VFW member and WW II veteran Richard Giuliani, told Patch about how he served during the invasion of Iwo Jima.  

“We built the runway that was three and a half miles long and we had three B-29s landing at one time on it. They were like steps in the sky after a 500-plane raid on Japan. And we had the P-51 mustangs that flew cover for them on their raid. They would buzz the field and then come down,” he said. 

“It was quite an experience. I don’t regret one bit of it and we did what we had to do.”

The American Legion hosted a barbecue behind their Jackson Avenue facility after the parade where they served hotdogs, ice cream, soda and beer free of charge. Keeping a proud watch over the peaceful celebration on such a beautiful day, Commander Ed Aulman, a Vietnam War veteran, smiled and commented on how much his post loves doing the parade.

“It’s an honor,” said Aulman.


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