BETHEL – Amidst a profusion of lilac, cherry tree and crab apple blooms lining Main Street Monday marched a condensed parade of veterans, soldiers and scouts.

From the Civil War monument to the common, the Memorial Day procession advanced following a 12-shot salute by a 4-man rifle squad that caused onlookers to flinch.

The initial sharp reports of gunfire honored Capt. Carl Russell Churchill of the U.S. Air Force’s 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron, said Richard Farren, commander of the Mundt-Allen American Legion Post 81 in Bethel.

Churchill, who is still listed as missing in action, was shot down on May 3, 1970, during an operational mission over Laos in the Vietnam War. A section of Route 26 in Bethel was named in honor of the Gould Academy student.

Prior to commencement of the day’s service, a brief bout of awkward confusion reigned when Farren realized that the post’s chaplain wasn’t present. Robert Shuster, however, stepped out of the crowd and conducted the opening prayer.

Following a reading of John McRae’s “In Flanders Fields” poem, and the introduction of Bethel’s Miss Poppy 2003, 6-year-old Molly Bruce, the Mahoosuc Community Band performed a set of rousing, patriotic songs.

And then, Bethel’s Margaret Joy Tibbetts, a graduate of Gould Academy and the U.S. Ambassador to Norway from 1964-69, took the podium.

She elicited chuckles from the crowd while light rain began to fall, starting off with a tidbit from the town’s history.

“The common was the scene of Bethel’s first militia practice in 1781 since an Indian invasion. Bethel hasn’t been the scene of an invasion since 1781,” Tibbetts said.

She briefly spoke about the five wars – World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and War in Iraq – America fought during her lifetime.

Tibbetts also shared memories of her Gould Academy classmates who fought in America’s wars and died, speaking of war’s noise, confusion and darkness.

“Their names on the (memorial) plaque are more than just names to me. They’re voices and faces and personalities and people,” she said.

After Tibbetts’ speech, the rifle squad again fired their guns three times each, then “Taps” was played twice by Mahoosuc Music Makers trumpeters, the first performance louder than the second, which followed on its heels.

Following a short prayer by the chaplain, who arrived during Tibbetts’ speech, the service ended as the intensity of the rain increased.

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