By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/ Producer
INWOOD — Hundreds of residents lined Broadway in Inwood on Monday to watch Manhattan's only Memorial Day parade to honor fallen soldiers.
The short annual parade, hosted by the American Legion Inwood Post #581, has taken place in Inwood for more than 70 years.
It started at Broadway and Dyckman Street and ended in Inwood Hill Park, where a wreath laying ceremony capped the event, along with the singing of God Bless America and a bugle performance of Taps.
The Marine Forces Reserve Band from New Orleans, La., led the parade, which included units from the USS Iwo Jima, USS Philippine Sea, 8th Marines and Coast Guard that were in Manhattan for Fleet Week.
Assemblymen Denny Farrell and Adriano Espaillat and city councilmen Robert Jackson and Ydanis Rodriguez also marched in the parade. The four elected officials gave brief remarks thanking parade goers for taking a moment to honor those who have fallen as well as people who continue to serve in the military.
“We all must pause in order to give thanks to all those men and women who gave their lives for this country,” said Jackson. “We all need to give thanks.”
Thomas Hoare, Inwood resident and member of the legion, said the neighborhood has deep ties to the military.
“This neighborhood has had a long history of service and it has become even more important as more military people have moved here,” said Hoare, who was born and raised in Washington Heights.
Deya Martin, 40, lives in Washington Heights and works as a hairdresser at Caroline’s Spa on Broadway. She said that she likes to watch the parade each year and stood on the sidewalk with her coworkers, Yandil Ramirez, 19, from Inwood, and Marcita Fungecio, 34, from the Bronx.
“It’s good to see so many organizations active in this parade,” she said in Spanish. “It’s good to educate and influence the kids who are always running around on the streets around here.”
Christopher Kershaw marched in the parade as part of the NYC Transit Pipes and Drums band, which is made up of retired and active bus drivers, train conductors and security guards.
“This is a very patriotic neighborhood, which is very good because we can never forget our heritage and roots,” Kershaw, 40, who is from Inwood, said. “These types of events are good opportunities to celebrate our freedom. I am proud to be an American and am proud to be able to give back.”
The parade was one of several events in Manhattan to remember Memorial Day.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg attended a ceremony at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Riverside Park on the Upper West Side.
A giant American flag was unfurled on the deck of the USS Intrepid during a ceremony at the historic aircraft carrier. A pair of U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolts flew over the Hudson River as part of the remembrance.
To honor CIA personnel killed in Afghanistan, a B-17 was to drop flowers near the Statue of Liberty.
Back in Inwood, resident Karie Brown attended the parade with her four-year-old daughter, Felicia. A native of New Orleans whose father served in World War II and grandfather who served in World War I, she said she feels a special tie to the holiday.
“As someone who comes from another part of the country and moved here to Inwood,” she said, “I think it’s very moving, and [I] appreciate that I now live in a community that supports the same work my father and grandfather once did.”
