NORWAY — Brad Peck, administrator of the Maine Veterans’ Home in Paris, urged those at a Memorial Day observance Monday to thank those who have served in the military.

“We must never forget to thank those who have served in the United States armed forces,” Peck said. “We must thank the veterans amongst (us) and those who have gone on for their service, for it is through their service and sacrifice that we appreciate the freedoms each and every one of us are granted.”

He added that Americans must “never take for granted our right to free speech, to a free press, our right to vote, and as our forefathers pointed out, our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Peck said people should remember to not only thank veterans “today,” but to thank them again “tomorrow, the day after and on and on.”

“This is what our veterans deserve,” he said. “To be thanked today, supported tomorrow, and cared for and remembered until the end.”

Peck spoke to residents attending the Stone-Smart American Legion Post annual Memorial Day ceremony and parade Monday morning.

Ralph and Rose Moulton served as the grand marshals of the parade, which began at 9 a.m. in front of the Fare Share Market on Main Street and ended at the American Legion Hall on Main Street.

Ralph Moulton served in the U.S. Navy during World War II from 1944 to 1945. His wife has tended the garden at the Norway Veterans Memorial Park for the past 16 years.

The parade stopped briefly at Witherell Park on Main Street, where American Legion Auxiliary Unit 82 Past President Marilyn Jones laid a wreath at the Civil War Memorial.

The Oxford Hills Middle School band performed “God Bless America” during the parade, and later performed the national anthem to open up the ceremony.

Auxiliary President Lillian Herrick led the Pledge of Allegiance and Don Mayberry, pastor of the First Congregational Church in South Paris, led a prayer.

Emily Huff read  the Gettysburg Address, while her sister, Anna, read “In Flanders Fields.”

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net

Marilyn Jones, left, past president of American Legion Auxiliary Unit 82 of Norway, pauses before the Civil War Memorial on Main Street in Norway before laying a wreath there Monday during a Memorial Day parade and service.

Brad Peck, administrator of the Maine Veterans’ Home at Paris, urged people at a Memorial Day ceremony Monday in Norway to “thank our veterans today, tomorrow and the day after.”