Paying Tribute To Fallen Veterans

Buchanan Engine Company No. 1 hosted the annual Tri-Village Memorial Day Parade and remembrance ceremony to honor local veterans and pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives to keep America free.

Veterans marched at the head of the parade followed by boy and girl scouts, village officials, marching bands and the fire departments of Buchanan, Montrose and Verplanck and joined by other local first responders.

The parade marched past appreciative residents to the Buchanan Veteran's Pavillion for a short ceremony which included a speech from Buchanan Mayor and U.S. Navy veteran Sean Murray who spoke of a friend lost along with 46 other sailors in the turret explosion aboard the battleship Iowa during a training exercise in 1989.

"I hope that story doesn't discourage any young people here from wanting to serve in the military" Murray said, "but I feel it's important to remember that there are people serving not just in war time, who put their lives on the line for us every day".

Members of the fire departments, which each host the event in alternating years then laid a wreath at the veteran's monument as Taps was played.