LAKE MILTON — More than one thousand lined the roads to American Legion Post 737 on Monday in support of veterans and fallen American soldiers.

Participants started lining up around 10 a.m. at the Mahoning Avenue boat launch ramp. The parade began at 11, pausing on a bridge for a ceremonial 21-gun salute.

The parade then proceeded to American Legion Post 737, where a wreath-laying ceremony was held. World War II veteran Joseph Bonanno, 101, was the grand marshal of the parade and participated in the ceremony.

He spoke about what it was like enlisting in the Army.

“I graduated high school and I knew this lady in GE (General Electric),” Bonnano said. “She took me down there with 200 people out there, and there was the guy doing the hiring. She grabbed me by the arm, took me up to the guy, and told him, ‘Hire him right now.’ He hired me right on the spot.”

He added that he worked at GE for about two weeks before he got examined to serve.

Bonnano said he saved 300 people and earned multiple Congressional Medals of Honor in his time as a combat medic. His son Garry added that he participated in 10 battles while serving.

Kent State professor and Army veteran John Marino was the ceremony’s speaker. He talked about the importance of remembering those who gave their lives for the country’s ideals and values.

“Remember those who answered the call to duty and put their lives on the line, who gave everything for the ideals and values that make our nation great,” Marino said. “We remember the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who fought on distant battlefields, endured the hardships of war and made the ultimate sacrifice so we may live in peace and freedom. Today we remember the courage of those who stormed the beaches of Normandy, who charged into the fiery camps of Iwo Jima.”

For those who attended the parade and ceremony, Memorial Day had different meanings.

Joyce Street is from Diamond, and her husband George was the parade’s coordinator for the last 28 years until passing it on to Holly Barr. She was there to support her endeavor.

John Finley is from Lordstown. He attended because his daughter was in the parade as a member of a Girl Scout troop. His father served in the U.S. Army. Memorial Day meant a lot to him because he felt that people don’t appreciate the freedoms we have.

“It means a lot because too many people today take for granted what we have,” Finley said. “I really respect those who fought, who gave their time and their lives to serve in this country, to have what we have.”

The parade featured vehicles and floats from local organizations such as the Lake Milton Historical Society and vehicles from surrounding townships, such as fire trucks from Jackson, Paris and Palmyra’s fire departments. Refreshments and hot dogs were offered at the American Legion following the ceremony.