If you are looking for ways to show your gratitude to the women and men who’ve lost their lives while defending our country, then you have plenty of opportunities to do so in the Hudson Valley this year.
Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, originated in the years following the Civil War. It became an official federal holiday in 1971, and many Americans observe it by visiting cemeteries or memorials, at family gatherings and by participating in parades. It marks the unofficial beginning of summer.
Here are just some of the local events marking Memorial Day 2018:
PUTNAM

• Brewster: VFW Post 672 hosts its annual parade at 10 a.m. May 28. It starts at the Brewster Fire House and heads downhill to Veterans Park, formerly Electrozone Field, for the ceremony.
• Putnam: The Putnam County Joint Veterans Council-John Morris Memorial Watchfire Vigil will be held from 6 p.m.-6 a.m. May 25, 26 and 27 over monuments at Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park. The opening ceremony is at 7 p.m. May 25.
• Putnam: VFW Post 1374 and Auxiliary, Carmel and American Legion Post 270 will hold two ceremonies: 9:30 a.m. May 27 at the monument on Terryhill Road in Kent; and then at 11 a.m. at the Post Home, 32 Gleneida Ave., Carmel.
• Putnam: The Putnam County Joint Veterans Council will hold a ceremony at 6 p.m. May 30 at Veterans Memorial Park.

ROCKLAND
 

• Congers: The parade kicks off at 10:30 a.m. May 26, marching from Kings Highway north to the Veterans Memorial Association Building on Lake Road.
• Nanuet: Memorial Day Service 11 a.m. May 28, Veterans Monument at the Nanuet Train Station (Prospect Street). Sponsored by American Legion Naurashan Post 794, Jewish War Veterans, and the Nanuet Fire Department.
• New City: The Rockland County Veterans Service Office hosts a social event with refreshments May 24 for veterans and their families, from 12-1 p.m. at 20 Squadron Blvd.
• New City: Clarkstown’s ceremony to honor veterans will be held at 11 a.m. May 25 at the Promenade of Heroes at the Street Community Center, 31 Zukor Road. The guest speaker will be World War II Veteran Alan Moskin. Refreshments will be served afterward.
• New City: The parade steps off at 10 a.m. May 28 on Collyer Avenue, continues south on Main Street and ends at the County Court House.
• Nyack: The parade starts at 11 a.m. May 28 on Artopee Way and ends at Memorial Park, where a ceremony will be held.
• Pearl River: John H. Secor American Legion Post 329 hosts the annual parade. It starts at 10:15 a.m. May 28 on North Middletown Road and ends at Braunsdorf Park. The guest speaker will be Kevin Whelan, a U.S. Army Combat Veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom II/III.
• Rockland: Vietnam Veterans of America will light the annual Memorial Day Watch Fires at midnight May 29 and burn for 24 hours at the following locations: Bowline Point Park, Haverstraw, Eugene Levy Memorial Park, Route 45 in Pomona, The top of Clausland Mountain, Orangeburg, and the east end of Piermont Pier.
• Spring Valley: The Rockland County Veterans’ Coordinating Council holds a ceremony at noon May 27 at the Frederick Loescher Veterans Cemetery, 220 Brick Church Road.
• West Nyack: Memorial Day Parade 11 a.m. May 28. Parade starts at 107 Strawtown Road, along Strawtown Road to West Nyack Hamlet Green (on West Nyack Road). Sponsored by Nanuet-West Nyack Rotary

WESTCHESTER

• Bronxville: The parade steps off from Leonard Morange Square Park at 8:45 a.m. May 28. A ceremony and wreath laying service will be held at the Bronxville School, and services will be held at the Bronxville Cemetery.
• Eastchester-Tuckahoe: The centennial of World War I will be commemorated at 7 p.m. May 27 at Eastchester High School, 2 Stewart Place, in a ceremony hosted by the Eastchester Tuckahoe Veterans Ceremony Committee.
• Harrison: The parade starts at 10 a.m. May 28. It goes from Halstead Avenue to Ma Riis Park
• Hastings-on-Hudson: At 1 p.m. May 27, the parade steps off from Reynolds Field. It ends on Maple Avenue and is followed by a ceremony at the VFW.
• Larchmont: A parade is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 24 from the train station to Larchmont Avenue.
• Larchmont: American Legion Post 347’s ceremony starts at 11 a.m. May 28 at the War Memorial on Myrtle Boulevard.
• Mamaroneck: VFW 1156 holds a ceremony at 9 a.m. May 28 at Tompkins Park on Boston Post Road.
• Mamaroneck: There will be a ceremony at Kemper Park at 3:30 p.m. May 30 at Mamaroneck High School.
• Mamaroneck: The parade steps off at 7 p.m. May 30 at Mamaroneck Avenue School and ends at American Legion Post 90. A ceremony of remembrance will follow.
• Montrose: VA Hudson Valley Health Care System holds a ceremony at 10 a.m. May 24 in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Montrose campus sculpture garden, 2094 Albany Post Road.
• Mount Kisco: The annual Memorial Day Parade hosted by the American Legion Post 136 of Mount Kisco will step off at 6:30 p.m May 30. It starts at the corner of Smith Avenue and Main Street and ends at the War Memorial next to Village Hall. American Legion will serve refreshments after the service. In case of rain, ceremony will be held inside the American Legion Building, 1 Legion Way at 6:30 pm.
• Mount Vernon: The city’s Memorial Day parade begins at 9:30 a.m. May 28 at Park Avenue and First Street, ending at Hartley Park.
• Mount Vernon: St. Paul’s Church National Historic Site will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A commemorative ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. in the church followed by laying of wreaths, and a walking tour recalling the lives and stories of soldiers interred in the historic cemetery, with an emphasis on World War I veterans. There will also be music, living history demonstrations and talks. 897 S. Columbus Ave.
• New Castle: The town’s Memorial Day events start with ceremonies at 10:30 a.m. May 28 at Victory Corners Monument, King Street and Bedford Road. The parade starts at 11 a.m. at Ridgewood Terrace at Bedford Road and marches to the Memorial Circle at the Chappaqua train station.
• New Rochelle: Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, placement of flags at veteran’s graves, starting at 9:30 a.m. May 27.
• New Rochelle: There’s a Memorial Day service at 10 a.m. May 28 on Memorial Plaza, Memorial Highway and Main Street; then a water service at noon at Glen Island Park followed by a veterans appreciation event featuring a barbecue and free concert.
• Ossining: The Memorial Day Parade begins at 9:30 a.m. May 28. It winds down Croton Avenue, Main Street, and Spring Street, then culminates in Nelson Park where we gather for a ceremony honoring our veterans. The Central Committee of Organized War Veterans of the Town of Ossining organizes this special event every year.
• Pleasantville: The parade starts at 10 a.m. May 28 at Bedford Road School and ends at Memorial Plaza, where a ceremony will be held. www.pleasantville-ny.gov.
• Shrub Oak: There will be a ceremony at 10 a.m. May 28 at John C. Hart Memorial Library.
• Somers: VFW Post 8013 hosts a parade and remembrance ceremony starting at 10 a.m. May 28 at Somers Middle School and ending at Ivandell Cemetery.
• Sleepy Hollow/Tarrytown: The parade starts at 9 a.m. May 28 on Main Street in Tarrytown and ends at Patriots Park for a memorial service.
• Vallhalla: Westchester’s 11th annual Veterans’ Remembrance Service takes place at 2:30 p.m. May 25 at the Veterans Memorial at Kensico Cemetery.
• White Plains: The parade begins at 10 a.m. May 28 on Church Street and ends at the Rural Cemetery on North Broadway. There, memorial services and honors at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument will be held.
• Yorktown Heights: The Memorial Day service will be held at 11 a.m. May 28 at the memorials at Town Hall. Parade, speeches and ceremony follow at 11:15 a.m. at the Jack Devito Gazebo at Yorktown Community and Cultural Center on Commerce Street.

PHOTO: Ossining Memorial Day ceremony