Memorial Day & 100th Anniversary Ceremony
You are invited to join our ceremony for the 158th Memorial Day, followed by a special 100th Anniversary Ceremony of the Veterans Memorial Building in Beacon.
WHO: Open to the public
WHEN: Memorial Day, Monday, May 27
10:00 AM — Naval Commemoration @ East Main Street Bridge
Processional march to VMB
11:00 AM — 158th Commemoration of Memorial Day
12:00 PM — 100th Anniversary of the Veterans Memorial Building
WHERE: Beacon Veterans Memorial Building
413 Main Street, Beacon, NY, 12508
No RSVP needed
Event Program
Meet for a 10 AM service at the East Main Street Bridge in Beacon to commemorate those who died in the U.S. Naval Forces, with a wreath to be laid on the water and followed by a rifle salute and processional march to the Veterans Memorial Building.
The 11 AM ceremony will commemorate the 158th Memorial Day with Keynote Speaker Retired Army General Brian Reed, PhD.
“This solemn event remembers the brave Americans who gave their last full measure of devotion to ensure that our American freedoms and ideals will never perish from the earth.”
– Paul Blose, American Legion Post 203 Commander.
At 12 PM, we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Veterans Memorial Building, constructed by the citizens of Beacon to commemorate the Veterans of the First World War and subsequent conflicts.
After the raising of the colors, vintage aircraft from the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome will perform a flyover and WWI style salute (weather permitting). A ceremonial passing of the colors will follow a short history of the building. The building’s cornerstone will be opened and augmented.
Then the VMB’s front plaza will be dedicated to the memory of Former Beacon Firefighter 1st Lieutenant Francis G. Peattie, US Army Air Corps, who was killed in the Second World War, making the corner of Main St and Teller Avenue the “1LT Francis C. Peattie Square.”
“We are thrilled at the care shown to this historic building by Beacon’s Veterans and their care for the preservation of the City’s history by Commemorating Lieutenant Peattie.”
– Denise VanBurren, President of the Beacon Historical Society.
Memorial Day History & Local Beacon Organizations
158th Observance of Memorial Day
Originally known as “Decoration Day” from the tradition of decorating graves with flowers, wreaths and flags, Memorial Day is now a federal holiday honoring U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.
The first national observance of Memorial Day was on May 30, 1868. General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic proclaimed the holiday to honor Union soldiers who had died in the Civil War. Prior to establishment of this nationwide holiday, many local ceremonies had commemorated those lost in war.
During that first national commemoration, former Union General and sitting Ohio Congressman James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.
In 1873, New York was the first state to designate Memorial Day as a legal holiday. By the late 1800s, many more cities and communities observed Memorial Day, and several states had declared it a legal holiday. After World War I, it became an occasion for honoring those who died in all of America’s wars and was then more widely established as a national holiday throughout the United States. In 1971, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act and established that Memorial Day was to be commemorated on the last Monday of May.
Centennial of Veterans Memorial Building, Beacon, New York
(Historical information source: Beacon Historical Society/Robert J. Murphy)
Beacon has a long history of supporting and honoring its veterans. The Veterans Memorial Building was dedicated on Memorial Day 1924 to honor Beacon veterans for their sacrifice and service.
Today, it is used by multiple veterans organizations, providing a place of comradeship and connection for Veterans in the Hudson Valley, Veteran services and programming, historical and ceremonial connections to all branches of Military Service, and a welcoming place where “Veterans can be Veterans together.”
On February 28, 1923, just 10 years after the City of Beacon was incorporated, the City held a special taxpayer referendum to decide whether local veterans should have a costly war memorial – a building to house the Beacon Post of the American Legion and the Wilson Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
The ballot proposition: “shall the City of Beacon, New York, purchase a site and erect a building in memory of, and as a memorial for the heroic dead who made the supreme sacrifice in World War, and of the ex-servicemen in the city of Beacon, said building shall be for the joint use and occupancy of the Beacon Post, American Legion and Wilson Post, V. F. W.”
The vote was close but veteran turnout was decisive: 317 to 310 in the affirmative for a $60,000 building (equivalent to more than $1 million today).
After the vote, the City Council chose the site on Main Street at the corner of Teller Avenue—a historic piece of property once owned by Madam Brett and her descendants. The generosity of the citizens of Beacon toward its veterans was noted in “American City” magazine in 1923: the article said that no city of Beacon’s size in America had spent so much on a war memorial to date.
The new building, designed by architect Louis Jallade in a colonial style with Corinthian columns, was to be viewed as a monument to their sons’ sacrifice, a gift from the taxpayers of Beacon to its veterans of the Great War. Crowds gathered on Memorial Day 1924 for the building dedication and to witness the laying of the cornerstone on the Teller Ave side of the building.
A small copper box containing the names of all Beacon men who served in WWI, names of Civil War veterans and the names of Red Cross workers was placed inside the cornerstone. Rev Thomas Dougherty, chaplain of the Sons of Veterans, stated “This dedication will go down in the history of our city as an example for future generations, whom it will show the City had men who were worthy of such a magnificent tribute, a memorial for the dead and a temple for the living”.
23 years later, after WWII, on Memorial Day 1947, the first monument in our City’s history to be dedicated to all of Beacon’s war dead was unveiled in front of Memorial Hall. The new monument was donated by Beacon Post 203 of the American Legion to replace the long-standing wooden Honor Roll with hand-painted names of men and women from Beacon in service during WWII that stood in front of the hall during the war. Supreme Court Justice J. Gordon Flannery, himself a Navy veteran, said: “It seems only a short time ago that we assembled here to dedicate the Memorial Building after a war which we thought marked the end of all wars. It didn’t seem as though it could happen again. But it did. I hope God in his infinite wisdom will see that it doesn’t happen again.” This monument has often served as the rallying center for Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day speeches in the years since.
Today, the City of Beacon is proud to support and maintain this Memorial building as the home for 5 Veterans Organizations.
Dedication of Square in memory of 1LT Francis G. Peattie, USAAF and Beacon Firefighter
Today, we dedicate the plaza fronting the Veterans Memorial Building to honor the memory of Beacon resident 1LT Francis G. Peattie (1918-1943), US. Army Air Forces, who along with a crew of eight other airmen was killed in action June 26, 1943 (aged 24), shot down over Papua, New Guinea. Listed as missing in action for over 40 years, Peattie’s remains were recovered and identified in 1985, and he was returned to Beacon and interred at St. Joachim’s Cemetery. Prior to his military service, Peattie had served as a Beacon Firefighter.
Beacon Residents who served in WWI and WWII (incomplete):
World War I: 577 Served, 13 Killed
World War II: 1,700 Served, 7 Killed
Organizations Currently in the Veterans Memorial Building
American Legion Post #203
The American Legion was chartered and incorporated by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization devoted to mutual helpfulness. There are nearly 2 million members of The American Legion, making it the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization with more than 13,000 posts in communities throughout the United States. In addition to posts in every state, The American Legion has posts in the District of Columbia, France, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Philippines.
The Legion has influenced considerable social change in America, won hundreds of benefits for veterans and produced many important programs for children and youth, including Boys State to foster understanding of the operation of the federal government, and the National High School Oratorical Contest, which promotes a greater understanding of the U.S. Constitution.
Veterans of Foreign Wars, William B. Wilson Post 666
The VFW is a nonprofit veterans service organization dedicated to veterans service, legislative advocacy, and military and community service programs. In 1899, the American Veterans of Foreign Service and the National Society of the Army of the Philippines organized to secure rights and benefits for veterans of the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Philippines War (1899-1902).
These two organizations merged in 1914, creating the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. The VFW was chartered by Congress in 1936. Today, membership stands at more than 1.4 million members with nearly 6000 posts worldwide in all 50 states and many foreign territories.
Beacon’s Private William B. Wilson, for whom this VFW post 666 is named
“Wilson went off to war with two of his best friends, George VanPelt of Beacon and Herbert Miller of Newburgh. The three, with about 50 other Beacon boys, joined up in Newburgh’s “Company L” of the 107th Infantry Regiment. By late April 1918, the regiment had landed in France. By mid-August the 107th was seeing its first action as a backup force to the British in the Dickenbusch Lake sector of Belgium.
The doughboys’ position were in clear view of the Germans who were entrenched on nearby Mount Kemmel. The regiment’s historian recalls that Company L, on the day of August 19, was under continuous shelling by the Germans, resulting in several American casualties. One of those was Herbert Miller of Newburgh, William Wilson’s best friend. Miller lay in No-Man’s Land, too dangerous to be retrieved in daylight.
That night of August 19, Private Wilson and Corporal Richard Connery volunteered to go out and bring Miller back to the American trenches. Both men carried Miller on a stretcher under a heavy barrage of mortar fire. Connery was wounded by shrapnel; Wilson was killed by a sniper. He was 24 years old and was the first Beacon soldier to die in WWI. He lies buried in French soil. He was a member of Mase Hook and Ladder Company.”
- Beacon Historical Society
Marine Corps League, Carmen Ramputi Detachment 861
The Marine Corps League was founded in 1923 by a World War I Veteran of Belleau Wood, Commandant of the Marine Corps, then Major General John A. Lejeune. On August 4, 1937, the U.S. Congress chartered the organization as a Veteran Service Organization.
The mission of the Marine Corps League is to promote the interest and to preserve traditions of the United States Marine Corps; strengthen the fraternity of Marines and their families; serve Marines and FMF Navy Personnel who wear or who have worn the Eagle, Globe and Anchor; and foster the ideals of Americanism and patriotic volunteerism.
The League is the only Federally Chartered Marine Corps related veterans organization in the country. Today, the League has a membership of more than 76,000 men and women in over 1,000 communities across America and is known for its “Toys for Tots” mission.
Beaconite Carmen A. Ramputi for whom this Marine Corps Detachment is named
Ramputi lived with his parents on Verplanck Ave. He enlisted the in Marines at 18, and served in the First Battalion, 24th Regiment, 4th Marine Division. In pleading with his mother to sign his papers to enlist he said: “This is my country. I do not want to be drafted. This country is worth fighting for.” He was Killed In Action in the Pacific Theatre during the invasion of Roi and Namur, Marshall Islands on Feb. 1, 1944 at age 19. Ramputi received the purple heart and is buried in St. Joachim’s Cemetery in Beacon.
Nam Knights of America, Iron Horse Chapter
Founded in New Jersey in the summer of 1989 by Jack Quigley, a small group of Harley-riding combat vets of the Viet Nam War, who were also police officers, banded together to form the Nam Knights. Today, the Nam Knights of America Motorcycle Club has grown to 82 chapters in 18 states, Washington D.C. and Canada, with hundreds of members made up of military veterans of all eras as well as law enforcement personnel.
The mission of the Nam Knights is to honor the memory of American Veterans and police officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty, to assist Veterans and police officers in their time of need, and to promote community awareness through sponsorship and participation in community and fundraising events."
Guardian Revival
Guardian Revival is a not-for-profit organization that improves the mental health & well-being of military & first responders — our guardians — and their families, at no cost to them. Programs include:
Another Summit: Outdoor adventures — walking, hiking, backpacking, paddling, and fly fishing
Boots & Paws: providing dogs for the therapeutic benefits of animal companionship
Encore: opportunities to learn, write, play, record, and share music
Peer Services: individual & group peer support for guardians by guardians
Homefront: support & resources for military & first responder families
Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome
Cole Palen founded the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in 1958 with a handful of airplanes and a dream. Today it is a world-renowned destination as America’s first flying museum of antique aircraft. The Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum was established in 1993 as a non-profit organization to continue Cole’s legacy. Its mission is preserving, restoring and flying the aircraft of the Pioneer, WWI, and Golden Ages of Aviation.
The Aerodrome entertains and educates by preserving over 80 vintage aircraft, many antique automobiles and motorcycles, and related memorabilia in a classic small town airport setting. The static display Museum is open from May through October. The History of Flight Air Show flies each Saturday, and the WWI Air Show each Sunday, Mid-June through Mid-October.
Weather permitting, vintage aircraft from the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome will conduct a Memorial Day flyover to commemorate our fallen service members and the 100th Anniversary of the Beacon Veterans Memorial Building.
VMB Organizations & Representatives
Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) - Pvt William B. Wilson Post 666
Harold G. Delamater, Commander
American Legion Post 203
Paul F. Blose, Commander
Marine Corps League of Dutchess County - Carmen Ramputi Detachment 861
Stanley Kasper, Senior Vice Commandant
Nam Knights - Iron Horse Chapter
Teddy Epidy, President
Guardian Revival
Alex Othmer Co-founder, CEO
Hometown Heroes
The Melzingah Chapter of the DAR sponsors “Hometown Heroes” banners on utility poles in Beacon. There are 88 Banners to date on 9D and Teller to remind us to remember and honor our heroes.