Great Neck Memorial Day Parade Chairperson Louise McCann said the Great Neck community observes Memorial Day better than some other communities by honoring those who have served our country rather than turning it into a celebration.
“Great Neck has always revered Memorial Day as a day of respect and remembrance,” McCann said. “Unlike a lot of other Memorial Day parades that include floats and clowns and cotton candy, I believe that Great Neck is to be commended for maintaining the real reason for Memorial Day.”
Despite the depth of clouds and threat of a downpour, hundreds of Great Neck residents gathered along Middle Neck Road to honor those who lost their lives in combat and support the various people marching in Monday’s parade.
Veterans marched alongside midshipmen from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Great Neck firefighters, religious groups, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Cub scouts and other social groups to a memorial service held at the Village Green.
The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy’s marching band kicked off the parade followed by hundreds of midshipmen.
They were followed by the Superintendent of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Rear Admiral James Helis, who was the grand marshal for the parade and ceremony.
Helis served as an Army infantry officer for 30 years after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
“As we enjoy this holiday today, let us not forget the meaning of Memorial Day or why we are able to gather with family and friends here as a community,” he said.
While he said we were blessed for the “diverse, talented and hard-working people” that make up our armed forces, Helis said defending our nation’s rights “comes with a price.”
“Over our nation’s history, time and again, America has answered the call when our most cherished freedoms were threatened,” he said. “It is especially important for our young people to understand and appreciate the freedoms which we enjoy as a matter of course in our daily lives.”
Emergency responders from the Great Neck Fire Alert and Vigilant Companies also marched in the parade, and drove several fire trucks up Middle Neck Road.
They were joined by members of the New York Fire Department’s Pipes and Drums band playing the bagpipes.
Contingents from several local groups also marched in the parade, such as the Stepping Stone Sailing Club, the Great Neck Chinese Association, Boy Scout Troop 10, Cub Scout Pack 178, the Nassau County Girl Scouts, the Great Neck Soccer Club, the Great Neck Police Activity League and the Great Neck Community School.
Delegations from various religious groups also marched in the parade, such as the Brotherhood of Temple Beth-El, St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, the Great Neck Episcopal Ministry, St. Paul AME Zion Church, Great Neck Synagogue, Young Israel of Great Neck and the United Mashadi Jewish Community of America.
This year’s parade was dedicated to Howard Bauman, a former Great Neck resident and World War II veteran who died in October from natural causes.
Shortly after joining the National Guard in 1941, Bauman enlisted in the Army Air Forces in 1943 as a staff sergeant during World War II.
He was stationed on various islands in the Pacific, including New Guinea, Guam, and the Phillipines, designing airfield strips for landing planes.
While in Australia on leave from the Army in 1944, he met his future wife, Joy, who attended Monday’s ceremony.
Bauman was a scoutmaster for the Troop 10 Boy Scouts and also served on the Great Neck Memorial Day Parade committee.
“The committee had felt his presence at meetings for both the Memorial Day and Veterans Day parades giving wise guidance and counsel to its members,” McCann said. “He was a true gentleman in every sense of the word.”
Among those in attendance were a number of elected officials, including Nassau County Legislator Ellen Birnbaum (D-Great Neck), Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, Village of Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender, Village of Great Neck Plaza Deputy Mayor Ted Rosen, Village of Thomaston Mayor Steven Weinberg, Town of North Hempstead Councilwomen Anna Kaplan and Lee Seeman, Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth, Town Clerk Wayne Wink, Town Receiver of Taxes Charles Berman, Village of Great Neck Mayor Pedram Bral and Village of Great Neck Trustees Barton Sobel, Norman Namdar and Anne Mendelson, Village of Kings Point Trustee Hooshang Nematzadeh and Great Neck Park District Commissioners Dan Nachmanoff, Frank Cilluffo and Bob Lincoln and Park District Superintendent Jason Marra.
Also present at the memorial ceremony were Great Neck Board of Education President Barbara Berkowitz, Vice President Larry Gross and Trustees Donald Ashkanese and Susan Healy, Great Neck School District Assistant Superintendent for Business John Powell, 3rd Congressional District candidate Jon Kaiman, 7th Senate District candidate Adam Haber and 16th Assembly District candidate Anthony D’Urso.
The parade began at 9:30 a.m. at the corner of Middle Neck Road and Susquehanna Avenue, and continued north on Middle Neck Road to the Village Green, located at the intersection of Middle Neck and Beach roads.
