Despite rain, Southampton service still goes on

Mother Nature may have done her best to rain on the annual Memorial Day parade in Southampton Village, but crowds of residents refused to let a sudden downpour dampen their patriotic spirit.

The annual Memorial Day parade, sponsored by the Commission on Veterans’ Patriotic Events in Southampton Village, was called off due to rain Monday morning. But the scheduled memorial service went on as planned, with a shift in venue from soggy Agawam Park to the Southampton Cultural Center across the street.

Navy veteran and Southampton Village Mayor Mark Epley said during his stint in the service, he was taught to “improvise, adapt and overcome. That’s what we did today.”

And, quipped guest speaker U.S. Army Ret. Maj. Montgomery Granger, “If it ain’t rainin’, it ain’t trainin.’”

On a more somber note, tribute was paid to heroes past and present who gave their lives to protect freedom.

“Our nation has assembled to honor its heroic dead,” William Frankenbach of the commission said.

Granger said Southampton Village “has created a classic and enduring Memorial Day experience in Agawam Park. Memorial Day is about remembering those who gave their last full measure of loyalty and patriotism for each one of us.”