Thousands of people came out to watch or be a part of the largest Memorial Day parade in this area, in Rochester on Monday. A sunny spring day helped bring out a lot of people lining parts of East Avenue and Main Street, with dozens of marching bands, military units and local officials taking part.
Many of those participating had a story to tell of service, either their own, or a family member, as well as their sacrifice. Rita and Dan Hasenauer of Hilton are the parents of Jason Hasenauer, a 21 year old soldier who died in 2005 in Afghanistan when a roadside bomb caused his Humvee to flip over.
Rita is now with Gold Star Mothers, a group that provides support for those whose children have died in the line of duty. Dan is a state official with a relatively new group, Gold Star Dads, which offers similar support. Rita Hasenauer says it was important for them to be at this parade, explaining that "This country was founded for our freedom and it's got to be protected, and our sons unfortunately died doing it."
The Grand Marshal of the Rochester Memorial Day parade was Tony Ferrarese, a 91 year old man who fought in France, 14 days after D-Day. He says he feels "very humbled on this" memorializing those who didn't come home and remembering "my buddies who I served with." He hopes that after the last of the WWII veterans die, that other people will carry the torch to remember their sacrifice.
The end of the parade also saw what has become an annual tradition, a "peace march" organized by the group Metro Justice and others, remembering those who died. One of the participants, Kath Buffington said it's important to recognize those who have fought for a better world, "both the veterans and those who want a more peaceful world...everyone's doing it out of good intentions."
Jim Bearden, also participating the peace parade, said it's important to honor the veterans who died and it's also important to remember the civilians who lost their lives as well, and to look at things we can work on to reduce the probability of war in the future.
