Come Celebrate Memorial Day in Monroe, Woodbury.

I'm off for Memorial Day. I hope to see you at one of these parades.

My Great Grandfather, Isidore Mendelson, joined the Army and fought on behalf of the United States in World War 1. He was an immigrant to this country, and wanted to do his part for the land that gave him an opportunity to live free of persecution many Jews faced in Russia.

My Grandfather, Louis Mendelson, joined the Army not long after Pearl Harbor, and spent three years in North Africa and Italy. He didn’t talk about it much. The only thing he ever said to me about World War 2 was that it was the “worst three years of my life.” I later learned from My Dad that Louis helped build bridges and was part of the Army Corps of Engineers

My Dad was drafted 1A to go to Vietnam, but found a loophole. He was a hippie and, like a lot of the Baby Boomer generation, knew that the war in Vietnam was based on a load of bullshit. The loophole led him to teaching in the Bronx for over forty years. So although he didn’t serve his country in the Army, he served it in another vital way.

Me? I just turned 18 before 9/11. I was also diagnosed with a heart condition in early 2001. So, I couldn’t serve, much to my great disappointment. Like a lot of 18 year-olds from the New York City metro area, I very much wanted to kick Al-Qaeda right in the face.

Many of my friends and peers from the Millennial Generation answered the call. Sadly, not many of them came back.

Those that did return were treated to The Great Recession, the opioid epidemic, and then four years of Trump, followed by COVID.

I’m convinced my generation has had it almost as hard as The Greatest Generation. At least they had body armor and a strategic plan.

There was also no generous GI Bill or Great Society to greet returning soldiers this time. (And yes, I know, the GI Bill historically excluded black soldiers in many, many cases, and in others, saw bad faith actors and service providers take advantage of those soldiers with little federal oversight.)

And that’s before we even talk about the housing crisis and America’s general affordability crisis which affects us all.

Be that as it may, as my history teacher at Monroe-Woobury, Mr. Dames, would say, Memorial Day is a big deal.

On May 26th, Woodbury will hold its Memorial Day Parade at 1pm on Bond Street and then head north on Route 32. There will also be a service in the back of the Cemetery of the Highlands.

Also on May 26th, at 1:30pm, Monroe will hold its Memorial Day Parade, beginning at Smith’s Clove Park. Like the Woodbury parade, this one will conclude at the cemetery.

On May 27th, at 10am, Washingtonville will hold their Memorial Day Parade, starting at the high school and ending at Memorial Park.

Traffic is expected to be bad all weekend long between the President being in town to give the West Point commencement speech on Saturday, May 25th, Woodbury Commons holiday traffic, and a project to begin filling potholes and do other road work on I-87.

Yet another reason we need mass transit, and should fight like hell to get it. But that’s a story for another time.

If you’d like more information on the parades, you can contact:

Monroe: Village Hall - 845-782-8341

Woodbury: Maria Hunter - Info@WoodburyMemorialDay.org

I’ll return for sure on Monday, but don’t be surprised if I pop back in between now and then with a post or two. There’s a lot going on.

Until then, please do come out to one of these three parades. Over the next few years, the World War 2 generation will be gone completely. The Korean War Vets too.

Our Vietnam Vets, who didn’t get the love and respect they deserved when they returned from the war — It wasn’t their fault the war was bullshit, ditto with Iraq — are also getting up there in age.

So, it’s nice for them to see you, and it’s nice for the community to come out and get together for the day as well.

I hope you’ll take advantage of the opportunity to say thank you, and remember that although it’s now a cliche, it’s true when they say freedom isn’t free.

Residents of Orange, Rockland, and Sullivan know all too well that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.