Memorial Day Observances This Weekend in Essex, Manchester

Veterans’ organizations in Manchester and Essex are preparing Memorial Day observances this weekend, including cemetery ceremonies, parades and community gatherings honoring military service members who died in combat.
In Manchester, Amaral-Bailey American Legion Post 113 will oversee several events. First, volunteers will place flags and grave markers at veterans’ graves this Friday, May 22, and Saturday, May 23, at cemeteries throughout town. Organizers said the Legion places more than 700 flags and markers annually in Manchester cemeteries.
On Monday, May 25, Manchester’s Memorial Day observances will begin with the annual morning waterside service beginning at 9 a.m. at the Legion post (14 Church St.) Participants are asked to assemble at 8:30 a.m.
The annual parade will follow the ceremony, proceeding through downtown and stopping at several memorial sites and cemeteries, including Rosedale Cemetery, the Hinckley Memorial, and Union Cemetery.
In Essex, Stephen H. Meuse American Legion Post 231 will host the town’s Memorial Day service at 11 a.m. Monday, May 25, at Memorial Park beside Town Hall on Martin Street.
This, too, is a touching ceremony.
This year’s services include remarks by Eastern Essex District Director of Veterans’ Services Steve Bohn, musical selections by the Manchester Essex Regional High School band under the direction of Harry Wagg, a wreath-laying ceremony, prayers and a traditional honor guard salute followed by the playing of taps.
Organizers said this year’s Essex service will also include American Sign Language interpretation of the national anthem by Claire Murphy and brief remarks on the history of Essex’s American Legion post and its World War I namesake, Stephen H. Meuse.
These services are an important moment to mark local servicepeople who have fought to preserve freedoms, many of whom died while serving in the U.S. military.