Introduction
Everything had been planned, and May 30, 1919 was going to be a different kind of Memorial Day. The Great War was over now, and the first of those returning from it were slowly trickling back. The scent of victory lingered in the spring air, mixing with that of grief. Three families, and many friends, were mourning men whose remains lay buried in France. There had been no final farewells - no hand momentarily placed on a coffin, no clod of earth tossed into an open grave.
Further down the road, the village would celebrate. On Independence Day, those who had come back would be part of the grandest celebration Hicksville had ever known. The laughter and music would eventually subside that day, but afterwards their names would remain, enshrined in bronze on the new War Memorial in the Triangle.
Welcome Home Celebration, July 4, 1919
The plaque on the boulder soon will be unveiled.
Hicksville Public Library Digital Images at https://nyheritage.org
(digitally restored)
Note: In the foreground, the members of the Epworth League
have yet to roll up their parade banner.
But that was more than a month away. Sadly, today belonged those who had not - would never - come back: Sgt. Joseph Barry, Cpl. Walter Wheeler, and Pvt. Charles Wagner.
As always, a key part of the annual rite through which Hicksville honored its dead veterans would be a parade through the heart of the community. It would pause at the Triangle for remembrance ceremonies, and then continue on to Plain Lawn Cemetery, where the community could pay homage at veterans' graves.
Three young oaks had been planted near the new War Memorial, and today they would be dedicated to the memory of the absent soldiers. Perhaps in years to come, this copse would become a place where loved ones of the deceased could find solace.
Despite the plans, and despite the solemnity of the Day, the parade would go awry.
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