Another Memorial Day weekend has passed, and celebrations all throughout different communities in the Hudson Valley had patriotic people lined up along street-sides showing their support for our fallen heroes. Pine Bush was just one of these communities, and on Monday morning May 30, Main Street was shrouded in American Flags as the 75th annual Memorial Day parade marched towards Crawford Town Park.

“This is by far the biggest turnout I’ve seen in 20 something years,” said Crawford Town Supervisor Charles Carnes.

This year’s parade was brought to fruition by American Legion Post 1308, the Catholic War Veterans Post 1937, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5492, along with assistance from the Town of Crawford Police Department.

“Their sacrifice is what makes us able to do what we want to do. It’s a privilege to be involved,” said Crawford Police Chief Dominick Blasko.

The patriotic caravan ended at Crawford Town Park with a ceremony following the parade. Taking place appropriately in front of the Veterans Memorial, Town officials and Veterans alike spoke about their experiences, and their gratitude towards those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. The ceremony was concluded with a 21 gun salute, and a playing of TAPS to honor the fallen.

“All the planning and everybody involved helped make this the biggest parade yet. Without them and the support of the community, this parade wouldn’t have happened at all,” said Dan Dambrozio, Commander of VFW Post 5492.

All three Veterans organizations who planned the parade, are currently working on putting up more of the “Hometown Heroes” banners that hang from light posts all throughout the Town of Crawford.

“Back in October, we thought we would maybe have 20 banners by Memorial Day weekend. We now have 56 banners up, and more on the way. The community support is unbelievable and they showed up to get those banners up,” explained Dambrozio.

The next step for the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Catholic War Veterans, is redoing the entire monument facility in the Crawford Town Park. They are raising funds by selling T-Shirts, and to support these organizations, contact Dan Dambrozio at ddambrozio@yahoo.com.