In ’88, ’89, like other years, Memorial Day was a time for patriotism, reflection, gratitude (with photos)

PHOTOGRAPHER: Jeff Wilkin

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Harold Burke held his trumpet, and his concentration.

The young man from Boy Scout Troop 88 played patriotic notes during a Memorial Day service in Schenectady on May 29, 1989.

People inside Veterans’ Park listened — and reflected on the men and women who gave their lives for the nation’s freedom.

Trumpet players, majorettes and flag wavers have always participated in Memorial Day parades and services. Veterans of the nation’s military services — men and women who remember brother and sister soldiers — treat the day with a special respect. They will march in uniform, wear American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars caps and salute the American flag.

People will watch parades, like the one in Esperance in 1989 that featured the Schoharie Junior High-Elementary Band. In 1988, people on Crane Street clapped for marchers that included the young Rotterdam Sweethearts.

Folks will also visit cemeteries and decorate graves of veterans — or just spend a little time with people they used to know. Maybe they’ll whisper words of gratitude — “Thank you for your service” — for people who are gone . . . but not forgotten.