With Honor and Heart: Ocean City Remembers on Memorial Day

With Honor and Heart: Ocean City Remembers on Memorial Day

On a picture-perfect day in Ocean City, New Jersey, the winds stilled and the sun warmed the backs of hundreds gathered in Veterans Memorial Park, as a community came together—for a celebration and solemn remembrance. The town’s annual Memorial Day ceremony carried the weight of sacrifice and the light of gratitude, in equal measure.

Local Boy Scouts, Kaiden and Kooper Grim, and Brayden McCallister, presented the colors as Miss Ocean City, Taylor Mulford,  led the crowd in a soaring, heartfelt rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner.” Voices rose together, some strong, some cracking with emotion, as residents, young and old, paid tribute to those who gave everything in service to our country.

Ocean City’s VFW Post 6650 Commander Mike Morrissey stood before the crowd and offered powerful words of thanks. “Today,” he said, “we thank not only those who gave their lives, but those who stand guard in our communities—our police, our firemen, our families. We are all part of this legacy.” Then, with a voice full of emotion, he introduced members of the group he referred to as American Royalty, the Gold Star Mothers.

A Gold Star Mother is a mother who has lost a son or daughter in military service. Being a Gold Star Mother is a mark of deep sacrifice and solemn honor, symbolizing a parent’s unimaginable loss and enduring pride in their child’s service and legacy

The oldest living Gold Star Mother, age 94,  helped unveil a newly dedicated chair within the park. The chair is more than a seat; it is a lasting symbol, a sentinel of memory for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. It’s a place of reflection, a space where everyone is reminded of the cost of freedom.

The ceremony’s most poignant moment came when one of the last living World War 2 veterans, 100-year-old Alan Shapiro, stepped up to the microphone.  Shapiro was a C-47 pilot during the war, dropping paratroopers into Normandy after the invasion and following General Patton’s army through France.

Before addressing the crowd, Shapiro received proclamations from the City Council, the State Assembly, and the County Commissioners. “I should’ve bought a parking ticket,” he joked before reflecting on what Memorial Day means and his time served. With great emotion in his voice, he spoke to the power of Memorial Day to bring America together, something we often forget.  “In my unit, we are all one,” he said.  “There were kids from all over the country and all walks of life; it didn’t matter, we were one.”

He recounted the wave of emotions he experienced landing in Normandy days after the invasion. “There were rows and rows of white crosses and religious symbols,”  Shapiro recalled. With a tremble in his voice, he spoke on the gratitude of the French. “Here we never fly another flag higher than the American flag.  When we got to Normandy, everywhere there was a French flag, there was an American flag flying above it!”

For the remainder of the war, Shapiro followed General Patton’s army as they marched through France.  He told a story that one night, heading toward the Battle of the Bulge, the troops were masking the headlights of all the tanks and vehicles. General Patton demanded that they remove all the masking at once.  “I want them to know we are coming!”

Shapiro is leaving in two days to return to France to commemorate the 81st anniversary of D-Day next week.

The ceremony closed with Miss Ocean City again taking the mic to lead the crowd in “God Bless America.” As the final notes drifted out to sea, the chair stood quietly beneath the flagpole. A symbol, a promise: that the memory of America’s heroes will always have a place in Ocean City.