But before the marching began, hundreds gathered to remember at Memorial Park during services held by the Dunkirk Joint Veterans Council. “It is good to know we have an organization that truly understands the meaning of what Memorial Day is,” said Mayor Wilfred Rosas of the council. “That today we honor those veterans who came before us and paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

Commander George Burns III, who served in the Coast Guard, later remarked about how American citizens need to be engaged in world happenings to prevent the loss of future lives in battles that do not reflect American values.

“So as ordinary citizens we’re caught in the middle and pay the heavy price of lost lives,” he said. “We must choose our leaders very, very carefully.”

First Sgt. Xavier Whitehead, who oversees the Dunkirk Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps in Dunkirk High School, spoke with pride about how JROTC cadets placed flags in the St. Mary’s Cemetery on May 21. “I wish you could have seen the youth of today, how diligently they searched to find (the veterans) among the headstones,” he said.

OBSERVER Photo by Catherine D’Agostino Vietnam veteran Danny McGill salutes the World War I monument during Memorial Day services in Dunkirk.

At 11 a.m., thousands of onlookers – and many with U.S. flags – lined Lake Shore Drive and Central Avenue as the parade began. World War II Army veteran Hoyt Price, 98, of Westfield served as the grand marshal.

OBSERVER Photo by Lorie Herman Members of the Dunkirk Fire Department march during the city parade Monday.