Oneonta’s
Memorial Day Parade
honors vets despite cold weather

By KEVIN LIMITI • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

ONEONTA – Despite the occasional rain and cold weather, hundreds came out for the Memorial Day parade and a wreath laying ceremony Monday, May 31, in Neahwa Park  to honor the country’s veterans who died in service.

Participants in the parade included the Oneonta Fire Department, the Oneonta PD, the American Legion, the Rotary Club, the Boy Scouts and the VFW.

Fred Hicken, a WWII veteran, was the grand marshal of the parade.

The parade started on Market Street, adjacent to the Foothills Performing Art Center. It proceeded on Main Street and ended at the veteran’s memorial plaques in the park. 

Mayor Gary Herzig gave a personal thank you to the veterans present at Neahwa Park.

“I had family members who lost their lives in the concentration camps,” Herzig said. 

Herzig said that Memorial Day was important to “take the time to remember those who fought and particularly those who didn’t come home,” Herzig said. “Their sacrifice and their families’ sacrifice was also our entire communities’ sacrifice … We can only dream of what we could’ve been if we hadn’t lost those who didn’t come home. It’s a true loss not only for them and their families but all of us.”

During the ceremony at Neahwa Park, there was a short invocation to begin the ceremony that said a prayer for stopping the rain and allowing them to honor veterans.  The Gettysburg Address was read, along with Gen. John Logan’s orders, which first designated Memorial Day as a time of honoring veterans.

Scouts BSA of Oneonta placed about 3,600 flags across the community. 

The ceremony ended with a 21 gun salute and the bagpipes of Michael Woytach, an Iraq War veteran who is part of the VFW in Oneonta.

“It’s just to pay my homage for those who can’t be here with us today,” Woytach said.

Herzig summed up the day with his closing remarks.

“It’s a sad day and also a proud day,” Herzig said.