Dear Resident,
Regrettably,
this year, due to current restrictions, the Village is unable to hold its traditional
recognition of Memorial Day on the lawn of the Country Club. Those who lost their lives in the pursuit of
our freedoms will still be remembered in the Village with memorial wreaths. We
encourage all of you to pause to remember these brave men and women this
weekend.
Attached is a
recording of the Mayor’s Memorial Day message.
We encourage you to listen to it.
The text of the message is also below.
Mayor Mike
Onorato
Deputy Mayor
Carole Schafenberg
Trustee
Barbara Arciere
Trustee John
Egan
Trustee Peter
Healy
Memorial
Day – Mayor’s Message 2020
Hello
…..this is Mayor Mike Onorato…..and on Behalf of all the Trustees and Village
Administrator…we wish to say a few words and to memorialize this special
weekend.
As we
approach this year’s Memorial Day Holiday, I am reminded that we are usually
gathered in front of our Beautiful Country Club Lawn to conduct our Annual
Ceremonies.
However, as
we have all recently learned, there has been NOTHING normal today in our daily
lives.
BUT our
resolve will not dampen our thoughts, gratitude and dedication to All those we
honor today.
This year
marks several key events: The first is the commemoration of the 75th
Anniversary of VE Day….the official end of the European conflict in WWII…..
During WWII
over 400,000 U.S. servicemen lost their lives in the European and Pacific
Theatres….fighting in such Battles as:
The attack
on Pearl Harbor, Battle of the Bulge, Battle of Midway, Okinawa, Iwo-Jima,
Guadalcanal and of course The European Invasion of Normandy.
Such
display of heroism from Soldiers of the Greatest Generation who believed: “You
did what you had to do and you kept on going”.
And today
we honor those heroes who fought in ALL conflicts and wars for our freedom…..we
remember their achievements, their courage their dedication and to say thank
you for their ultimate sacrifice.
BUT our
challenges as Americans never seem to end: the second event is our continued
fight against what President Trump has termed: The Silent Enemy: The Pandemic
War of the Corona Virus.
Unfortunately,
we are also reminded that this Battle….has claimed over 90,000 American deaths.
From this
battle many heroes have evolved……heroes from all walks of life who are putting
themselves at risk to fight this unpredictable, unforeseen invisible enemy.
These are people
right here in our Village who have shown this fortitude and courage to help put
an end to this disaster…..Some of these heroes have been named in honor on the
Village’s Website dedicated as the “Hall of Heroes”.
All of us have
realized the pain of losing friends, relatives who have passed and either
suffered or are suffering from this horrible disease.
Again we
are asked to be brave and to conger up that internal American DNA that gives us
the courage to go on ….AND TO NEVER GIVE UP!
To honor
this Memorial Day, The Village has placed three wreaths in dedication: one
wreath at the front flag pole at the Country Club….One wreath at the entrance Bay of the Fire Department …to
honor those FD members who have passed and also one wreath at the 911 Memorial
at the front of Village Hall……I would hope that you take a moment and visit one
of these locations to pause and reflect to remember our Fallen Heroes.
When I
think about what makes us Americans..Perhaps President Reagan defined the Bravery Fortitude and Resilience of the
American persona best when in 1987 he said the following:
AS FOR
THOSE ENEMIES OF FREEDOM
THEY WILL
BE REMINDED WITH VIGOR THAT PEACE IS THE HIGHEST ASPIRATION OF THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE
WE WILL
SACRIFICE FOR IT
WE WILL NEGOTIATE
FOR IT
AND WE WILL
NOT SURRENDER FOR IT….. NOW OR NEVER
BECAUSE
THIS IS THE FABRIC OF OUR MORAL COURAGE
WE BELIEVE
THIS BECAUSE WE ARE AMERICANS
THANK GOD
FOR AMERICA…AND FOR THOSE WE HONOR TODAY
MAY YOU ALL
HAVE A PEACEFUL MEMORIAL DAY !
Mayor Mike
Onorato
