Hoping to turn swords into plowshares

KENT — Memorial Day, celebrated this year on Monday, May 27, was blessed in Kent by weather that neared perfection. Blue skies and bright sun shone down on the parade as it formed at Kent Center School. 

The American Legion Honor Guard and veterans in dress uniform led the way, followed by the Kent Center School marching band and the fire department volunteers, also in full dress. 

First stop was St. Andrew’s Cemetery, where the Rev. Roger White delivered prayers for deceased service members, asking the Lord “to grant them an abiding sense of Your presence wherever they may be.”

From there the parade, now strong with followers, proceeded east on Route 341 to the Veterans Memorial, where veteran Bob Bauer placed a wreath and Msgr. Vittorio Guerrera offered prayers. 

He reminded the crowd that “Freedom is not free” and that “No greater love has man than to lay down his life for his friends.” 

At each major stop, a 21-gun salute and taps were central points of the ceremony. 

After a stop at the Civil War monument, where Linnea Sexton recited Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, the parade headed north on Main Street to the library, whereFirst Selectman Bruce Adams read the list of Kent soldiers who have given their lives in service, starting with the Civil War. 

Veteran Jack Osborne placed a wreath at the memorial stone there. 

The parade then moved on to the Congregational Church, where ice cream was served to happy followers. 

The final words shared with the parade and the community by Veralyn Davee were, “Let us turn our swords into plowshares for a harvest of justice and peace.”