Wrentham Preparing For Memorial Day Events

Wrentham has a slate of events scheduled to honor veterans this Memorial Day.

Monday's events include a parade and an exhibit on the town's war casualties.

Joseph Manning, a member of the town American Legion, said the day begins at 8am, when a rifle squad goes to Sheldonville's three cemeteries to honor the veterans there.

The parade in the center of Wrentham begins at around 10am.

"We go to the cemetery, a few dignitaries make speeches, and we read off the role of Wrentham's killed in action," he said. "The rifle squad fires a three-round volley, and the King Philip band plays 'Taps.'"

Manning said the parade then proceeds to the town center, where the town has its monuments honoring veterans.

According to Manning, the parade has a very good turnout.

"It's unbelievable," he said. "People line up, and they're usually three people deep."

"I've been doing this for 20 years, and I still get goosebumps," he added.

He said the town usually has about 30-40 veterans participating the parade, along with the town police and fire departments.

The Old Fiske Museum will feature an exhibit called "Beyond the Plaque," with pictures, stories and facts about the town's 20th-century war casualties. The exhibit will run from 11am to 2pm.

Andrea Sweed, a member of the Wrentham Historical Commission, said the exhibit will serve to personalize those who served in the wars.

“When I hear their names read out each Memorial Day and when I see their names on the plaques in town, I wonder: what were they like? Where did they live? What did they like to do? Who did they leave behind?” Sweed said in a statement.

The exhibit, which is being put on by the town American Legion, Cultural Council and Historical Commission, also features glimpses at Wrentham during the war years.

“We hope, by having townspeople walk through the exhibit and see these faces, their homes or street they lived on, [this] will help to keep their memory alive each time they happen to pass by that street or the war memorials uptown,” Sweed said.