NORTH CANAAN -— The parade and solemn ceremonies commemorating Memorial Day on Monday morning, May 25, spoke to the hearts of many town residents.
The master of ceremonies and keynote speaker was Brian Ohler, the recipient of four Purple Heart awards while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan as a military police investigator until his discharge after 12 years from the U.S. Army in 2013.
The invocation was given by Chaplain Ken Merrill, who thanked “those comrades and sisters who laid down their lives for their country.”
First Selectman Douglas Humes was introduced, and after thanking all those who gave their service to the country, spoke about the history of the “magnificent monument we stand before today, known as the Doughboy Monument.”
Humes explained the history of the term “doughboy,” which dates back to World War I.
After long marches, he said, “dust formed on the soldiers, after a time forming into a dough-like substance. So, they were known as doughboys.”
He quoted President John F. Kennedy, who said that a nation reveals itself by the citizens it honors. On Memorial Day, the nation and the town were honoring the men and women who died in the service of their country.
Allison Ford, 7, of East Canaan, was introduced by Ohler as the Poppy Princess. She attends North Canaan Elementary School.
Ohler spoke of the “immense honor” he felt when he was asked to serve as master of ceremonies this year. He had done so in 2004 as well, on a break from his tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Ohler chose as the grand marshals of the day the town’s Vietnam veterans.
He asked them and their families, and the families of those who died in the war, to step forward and be recognized. He officially welcomed them home, to applause from all those assembled.
He spoke of the kinship he felt with them.
“We both fought in unpopular wars,” he told them. “We were both young and scared. America loves you, and we are here to support you.”
As a child growing up in North Canaan, he said he looked up to the men and women who had served.
“They were my heroes.”
He joined the military in peacetime — but two months later the 9/11 attacks occurred and “everything changed.”
When he came home from serving for a year in Iraq at the age of 20, he was “a changed man.”
When he returned home permanently, Ohler found it challenging at times to be back in society. He spoke of being diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after having been wounded four times.
“How was I to deal with it? Hiding in a corner? No. I learned that it’s much better to talk about it with others.”
He asked all those at the ceremony to “be a friend to a veteran.”
The ceremony ended with the laying of the memorial wreath by retired USMC Sgt. Nicholas Gandolfo, and the playing of taps.
In his closing prayer, Merrill said, “We march on with our ranks grown thinner … Bless our soldiers and our country with peace and righteousness.”
