Glen Cove's Memorial Day Weekend Festivities

Memorial Day weekend in Glen Cove will be jam-packed with festivities to honor our country's veterans who fought to protect our freedoms.

Residents can celebrate with a decoration of the city's war monuments, a church memorial service and a commemorative parade.

Retired Captain Mieczyslaw Madejski was selected as the 2018 Parade Honoree and retired Army Master Sergeant Paul McDermott as the Parade’s Grand Marshal.

“This is the first time the Memorial Day Parade Committee has selected a World War II honoree who has dual citizenship,” Fred Nielsen, Glen Cove Memorial Day Parade Committee Chairman, said.

“I am honored to have been selected by my veteran peers to be Glen Cove’s 2018 Memorial Day Honoree,” Madejski said.

The Committee will also continue a tradition introduced last year of bringing into direct remembrance one of Glen Cove’s more than 200 War Dead named on our monuments in Veteran’s Park. This year the parade honoree has selected Eddie Lupinsky. Lupinsky served in World War II. On behalf of the Citizens of Glen Cove, and as Honoree, Mr. Madejski will present a Certificate of Remembrance and Appreciation to Mr. Lupinsky’s family members during the Memorial Day opening ceremony.

Additionally, the Polish Consul General, Maciej Golubiewski will present a special citation and Troop 6 First Class Boy Scout Genalie Prezeau will give a “Bridge To The Greatest Generation” Knot Board to Mr. Madejski as part of the program.

Below is the MDW schedule of events:

Saturday, May 26

• 1 p.m.– Interfaith Memorial Services hosted by the First Baptist Church, 7 Continental Place, to honor the nation’s war dead.

Sunday, May 27

Decoration of the City’s War Monuments

• 1 p.m.— Doughboy Monument on Glen Cove Avenue by the Glen Cove Public Library
• 1:20 p.m.— Monument at the Forest Avenue & Ford Street
• 1:40 p.m.— Monument at Elm Avenue and Frost Pond Road
• 2 p.m.— Monument at St. Rocco's Church

Monday, May 28

• 11 a.m.— The City of Glen Cove Memorial Day opening ceremonies begin with a Veterans Memorial Park ceremony which will be held at Monument Park (North St. and Forest Ave.). The parade’s 2018 Honoree, Mieczyslaw Madejski, will be recognized following the ceremonies dedicated to the memory of the nation’s men and women in uniform who made the ultimate sacrifice. This year’s parade Grand Marshal is Paul McDermott and the Parade Committee Chairman is Fred Nielsen.
• 11:30 a.m.— The Memorial Day Parade will assemble on the corner of Cottage Row and Forest Avenue and will step off at noon.
• Noon— The Glen Cove Memorial Day Parade begins at Cottage Row and Forest Avenue, then it continues down School Street, left onto Glen Street, right onto Pulaski Street, right onto the Arterial Highway, past the reviewing stand in front of Glen Cove Public Library, and ending at Charles Street.

About Madejski

Mieczyslaw Madejski is a Polish Home Army Veteran who served his home country from 1939 to 1946. During the siege of Warsaw by the Nazi army at the onset of World War II, he volunteered to serve in the city’s Fire Department and at age 16 he joined the Polish Defense Forces, which in 1942 became the Polish Home Army. He was a part of the resistance group, Union for Armed Struggle, and in 1942 helped liberate 350 Jews from the Gesiowka concentration camp and is honored at the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem as “Righteous Among The Nations,” by Yad Vashem. Madejski, nicknamed Marek, immigrated to the United States in 1969 and has been active in many Polish organizations since, including the Society of Polish Combatants, the Polish National Home in Glen Cove, Polish American Museum in Port Washington, and the Polish American Congress Long Island Division.

Mr. Madejski was awarded the Cross of Valor - which he received twice – and the Officer’s Cross of Polonia Restituta, which was bestowed upon him by Lech Kaczynski, former President of Poland. Madejski is also an honorary member of the Warsaw Rising Museum. He has visited and spoken to Polish Youth in Polish Supplementary Schools.

Photo credit: Tab Hauser

• Caption: (l-r) First Row: Glen Cove Mayor Tim Tenke, 2018 Parade Honoree Mieczyslaw Madejski and Parade Chairman Fred Nielsen. Second Row: Glen Cove 2018 Memorial Day Parade Committee members Pete Purdente, Steve Gonzales, Cmdr Pos # 1765 Dave Hubbard, Veteran Affairs Director Tony Jimenez, Henryk Nowicki, Christina Noon and Butch Grella. Missing from photo, Willibe Wilson Jr., Secretary.