Towns to observe Memorial Day

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Members of the Naugatuck High School Air Force JROTC march during Naugatuck’s Memorial Day parade last year. -FILE PHOTO

Beacon Falls, Naugatuck and Prospect will commemorate Memorial Day with parades, flyovers and moments of remembrance.

Naugatuck’s annual Memorial Day parade steps off, rain or shine, Monday at 9:15 a.m. on North Main Street. The parade heads downtown to Town Hall on Church Street for a ceremony.

Maj. Gen. Francis Evon Jr., an Afghanistan War veteran and the adjutant general of the Connecticut National Guard, is the grand marshal of this year’s parade.

Evon, a Naugatuck native, joined the Connecticut National Guard in 1985 as an enlisted anti-tank crewman in the Combat Support Company, 2nd Battalion, 102nd Infantry. He served in Afghanistan during Operation Freedom from November 2009 to November 2010.

Evon has earned numerous awards, including the Legion of Merit award, Bronze Star Medal and the National Defense Service Medal with a Bronze Service Star.

The 142nd Medical Support Company, Connecticut National Guard will lead the parade’s military contingents. The parade will feature a flyover — weather permitting — by a World War II B-25 attack bomber. There will also be a flyover by a C-130 plane.

A .50 caliber machine gun mount, M45, “quadmount” will also be part of the parade. The machine gun will fire bursts of blanks during halts on the Whittemore Bridge and in front of Town Hall.

Marching units will assemble at 8:45 a.m. on North Main Street, in the vicinity of Union and Woodbine streets and St. Mary’s Church.

All veteran, civic and fraternal organizations are encouraged to participate in the parade.

A .50 caliber machine gun mount, M45, “quadmount” will be part of Naugatuck’s Memorial Day parade. –CONTRIBUTED

Prospect’s annual Memorial Day parade will begin at 1 p.m. sharp on Monday on the Town Green on Center Street.

The parade heads past Town Hall on Route 69, turns onto Old Schoolhouse Road then onto Route 68. The parade then goes into Prospect Cemetery for a brief ceremony. Following the ceremony in the cemetery, another ceremony and wreath laying will be held on the Green.

Prospect Mayor Robert Chatfield said a flyover by a C-130 plane is planned for the parade, which will also feature the St. Peter’s Drum Corps and the Mattatuck Drum Band.

Chatfield said any veteran, organization or business is welcome to participate in the parade. Those who want to march in the parade must meet on Center Street by 12:45 p.m.

If it rains, Chatfield said, a brief ceremony will be held in St. Anthony Church, 4 Union City Road.

Due to safety concerns, Chatfield asked anyone marching in the parade to not throw candy to the crowd.

Beacon Falls will observe Memorial Day on Saturday and Sunday.

Members of American Legion Post 25 will hand out poppies at St Michael’s Church at 5 p.m. Saturday and at times throughout the morning on Sunday.

The American Legion will hold a breakfast with first responders at Beacon Hose Co. No. 1, 35 North Main St., at 8:30 a.m. A memorial service for first responders who have died will immediately follow.

The American Legion will host a Memorial Day ceremony at 12:30 p.m. at Veteran’s Park on North Main Street.

The ceremony will include speeches by veterans and local and state dignitaries, and a wreath laying. All are welcome to attend.