Hundreds brave dreary weather for Saugus ceremony

SAUGUS – In weather fair and foul, the town of Saugus honors its men and women in service and veterans with an annual Memorial Day parade, and hundreds of residents join in the tradition.On a chilly and rainy Saturday, approximately 400 residents from Saugus and its surrounding communities participated or watched the parade.Together, they remembered the veterans buried at Riverside Cemetery, marched through the mist alongside veterans and listened to tales from a prisoner of war, Lt. Cmdr. Steven Harris, U.S. Navy retired, who was captured off the waters of North Korea in 1968 and served 11 months in prison there.”We expected Jan. 24, 1968 was going to be our last day on Earth,” Harris said of the capture of the USS Pueblo and what became known as the Pueblo Incident.So braving poor weather is the least a grateful nation can do for its service members, said Saugus resident Anna Fariole.View a photo gallery”If they can handle a war, we can handle a rainy day,” she said as she brought her 6-year-old son, Ryan, and his friends to watch the parade.Nine-year-old Anthony Caruso and his 8-year-old sister, Sofia, tagged along. They’ve heard stories of their grandfather serving in the military, and they were excited to stand in the cemetery and wave flags over his compatriots’ graves.”We honor him today,” Anthony Caruso said.And the many veterans who participated in the parade and ceremony certainly felt honored. Vietnam Navy veteran John Mulcahy and United States Marine Corps veteran Jerry Rivard drove a Vietnam-era army truck that has seen action in Vietnam, Iraq and the CIA across Massachusetts to participate and said they were glad to see local residents also joined in.”A lot of the times, in bad weather people don’t show up, but this is an exceptionally good cause,” Mulcahy said, adding “It shows they have a little bit of support for our veterans.”The ceremony in Riverside Cemetery also honored previously unrecognized heroes.Saugus resident Gordon Shephard spent two years investigating who was buried in eight unmarked graves in the veterans section of the cemetery, and on Saturday their names were revealed as active service members laid down their tombstones.The day’s ceremonies and all who attended despite the weather appropriately celebrated all of America’s service members past and present, said Capt. Steve Castinetti, USN (ret.), the Selectmen Chairman and Saugus Veterans Council President, who organizes the parade every year.”I think it’s a great testament to the sacrifices our veterans have made over the years,” he said. “This is Memorial Day, the sacrifices we’re making today, getting a little damp, pales in comparison to the sacrifices those folks made that we’re honoring today.”Amber Parcher can be reached at [email protected].