Memorial Day 2017 gallery: Buchanan parade
Published 9:46 pm Monday, May 29, 2017
Children with the Afternoon Adventure VBS in Buchanan wave to the crowd during Monday’s parade. (Leader photo/JOE KUHARIC)
Many gathered along the side of the road Monday on the parade route from Front Street to Oak Ridge Cemetery on Terre Coupe Road.
Onlookers were greeted by veterans from the American Legion, the Boy Scouts, the Buchanan High School band, Miss Buchanan, Mr. Blossomtime First Runner-up, horses, vintage tractors and fire engines.
Monday’s parade concluded in the cemetery with a ceremony honoring fallen soldiers.
“[Memorial Day] means paying homage to all of my fallen comrades out here, all passed away from these different wars we’ve had and paying respect to them,” said Richard Stuart, a U.S. Army veteran and a member of the Buchanan American Legion. “It’s something we need to do. It’s something this country needs to do.”
Also present for the parade and memorial service was retired U.S. Army Captain Randy Cuyler, who was there to visit the grave of his son. Cuyler’s son, Brian, was a specialist in the U.S. Army and passed away July 11, 2016, from brain cancer, which stemmed from an injury he received while serving overseas.
“[Memorial Day] is a day to pay homage, like [Richard] said, to our veterans that have passed away in war. It’s not about us active duty guys or us vets, it’s about these guys that have passed away,” Cuyler said. “We have to pay our respects to our soldiers that have passed away in war.”
