Memorial Day Weekend 2023: Branford And Nearby Holiday Events, Parades

BRANFORD, CT — The upcoming Memorial Day parade in Branford is part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

As the observance has changed over the years, many families also use Memorial Day as an occasion to visit Branford cemeteries and leave flowers at the graves of family members, regardless of whether they served in the military.

Branford
Monday, May 29

Branford Memorial Day Ceremony and Parade
The Branford Memorial Day Ceremony and Parade start at 6:30 a.m. at the town's seven cemeteries and monuments with the laying of wreaths, lowering the flag to half-staff, a rifle salute, and Taps. The Committee also participates in the Village of Stony Creek service marching to the Stony Creek Cemetery. They then head over to the Hubbard Bridge on Montowese Street to lay a wreath on the Branford River to honor Navy Veterans. This year the group will add the monument at Veterans Park as a new stop.

"We are pleased to continue to have our annual Memorial Day services in remembrance in of those that died in service to our country and to honor all those, including many from Branford who were lost in all wars,” said Veterans Parade Committee chairman Bill O'Brien.

Marching units will gather on the Green by 9:45 am for services that begin at 10:00 am. The program will include the Invocation, followed by the National Anthem, greetings by Selectman Jamie Cosgrove, musical selections, reciting the Gettysburg Address by Michael Kinney, the Walsh Intermediate School 'Thomas Yester Essay Contest' winners, benediction, a rifle salute and taps.

Captain John Fitzgerald, a 25-year veteran of the Coast Guard, now retired, will serve as the Grand Marshal and give the main address.

Participants in this years parade include members of the Town's RTM, American Legion Post 83, VFW Post 12106, Branford Police and Fire Departments, Stony Creek Fife and Drum Corps, the Branford High School Band and the 2nd Company Governors Foot Guard. In addition there will be a Take a Vet Fishing Float, a Branford Garden Club Float a military marching unit, Branford Lions Club, Knights of Columbus, Branford Historical Society, the Columbus Day Committee of Greater New Haven, vintage cars, town fire apparatus and a number of scout troops.

The Branford Town Band will provide music on the Green during the parade, Steve Vacca will play taps at the cemeteries and the closing ceremonies on the Green, Lia Whitten will sing the National Anthem, Pastor Steve Chamberlain will offer the Invocation and Benediction and VFW Commander and American Legion Chaplin Elliott Hastings will give the GAR address. Dennis Nardella will provide the sound.

In case of inclement weather, the parade ceremonies will be moved to the Branford High School gymnasium beginning at 10 a.m.

North Branford
Monday, May 29

North Branford Memorial Day Parade

The North Branford Memorial Day Parade will be held on Monday, May 29, 2023 at 10 a.m. in the North Branford section of town. The veterans of North Branford/Northford extend an invitation to everyone who wishes to march on that day. Groups will form on Commerce Drive, which is located off Route 80, at 9 a.m. The parade line will start at 9:30 a.m. and step off at 10 a.m. sharp. Memorial Day is dedicated to honoring and remembering the men and women who have served our country and have since passed away. Anyone who has a family member or acquaintance who is a deceased veteran, you are invited to carry a picture of this person in our Memorial Day parade to honor their memory. The parade line will proceed east onto Route 80 toward the North Branford Congregational Church. All are invited to Company #1 Firehouse, 1531 Foxon Rd, North Branford after the ceremony for refreshments.

East Haven, Monday, May 29
Annual Memorial Day Procession
Mayor Joseph A. Carfora, the town and the East Haven Veteran's Council honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in a procession from American Legion Post 89 on Thompson Avenue to the Town Green begins at 11:40 a.m.

New Haven
May 27

'Call To Service' New Haven American Legion Post 210, VFW Post 12150

In partnership with the City of New Haven, American Legion Post 210, VFW Post 12150, NVCLR & Yale Veterans Network, there will be a morning of service Sat. May 27, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Vietnam War Memorial on Long Wharf Drive in New Haven. Materials will be provided by the New Haven Public Works Department. Please bring your work gloves, shovels, brooms, and gas or battery-powered blowers or trimmers. COVID guidelines will be followed and masks and social distancing will be required and adhered to.

New Haven
May 28

New Haven’s Memorial Day Ceremony

Commemorating the men and women who died while in military service, the City of New Haven Memorial Day ceremonies will be on Sunday, May 28, 2023. Elm City and regional residents are invited to attend two traditional wreath-laying ceremonies. At 1 p.m., there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park on Long Wharf Drive.
At 3:00 p.m., there will be a second wreath-laying ceremony at the World War Memorial Flagpole on the New Haven Green.

The history of Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, dates back to 1868, when Gen. John A. Logan called for a day of remembrance to honor the Northern lives lost amid battle during the Civil War that had ended just a few years earlier, according to History.com. As time passed, more and more people called it Memorial Day, and it became a federal holiday in 1971.

Waterloo, New York, is considered the birthplace of Memorial Day. The town’s observance on May 5, 1866, predated Logan’s call for a day of remembrance. Local businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers and flags.

Until World War I, the holiday honored only those soldiers who died while fighting for the Union in the War, as Southern states honored their war dead on a separate day. After the 116,000-plus American deaths in World War I, the tradition changed to remember all who have died while serving in the military.

Every year, a national moment of remembrance is held at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. No matter where they are or what they’re doing, Americans are asked to pause for one minute in silence to remember military personnel who have given their lives in service to their country. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the midday time was chosen because it’s a time when many Americans will be enjoying their freedoms on a national holiday.