Memorial Day Parade

Pack 2 marches in Holliston’s Memorial Day parade every year, and we treat it differently from everything else on this page.

Scouts wear the full Class A uniform — shirt tucked in, neckerchief and slide, hat, everything buttoned. We carry the American flag and the pack flag, and the Scouts carrying them are taught how to do it correctly beforehand: how to hold it, how to render honors, and when to be silent. At the cemetery ceremony we stand at attention through the whole thing.

Why we make a point of it

Memorial Day is not a kickoff to summer. It is the day the country remembers people who died in its service, and the ceremony at the end of the parade route is attended by families in this town for whom that is not an abstraction. Our Scouts are old enough to understand that, and being asked to stand still and be respectful for twenty minutes is part of what they are learning here.

Younger Scouts sometimes need a hand — that is fine, and adult partners walk with the Lion and Tiger dens. But we do explain to every Scout beforehand what the day is for.

Details

Line-up is early, before the parade steps off. The route is about a mile at a slow walk. Bring water, sunscreen, and shoes that can handle pavement. Full timing goes out by email the week before.