Christine LeClair cringes when she hears someone utter the words “Happy Memorial Day.”

Educating the youngest generation on the true meaning of the holiday was just one of the messages the Carbon County Veterans Affairs director left with a packed crowd Monday in Palmerton Borough Park.

“While the person saying that phrase may have the best intentions,” LeClair said, “I can assure you those words are not uttered at Arlington National Cemetery or in the homes of any Gold Star families. Instead, we can say we will remember or never forget.”

Local veterans were certainly not forgotten during Palmerton’s annual Memorial Day festivities, which began with a parade down Delaware Avenue, followed by a service in the park, where LeClair was the featured speaker.

“Our gathering is just one small spark in the flame of pride that burns across the nation today and every day,” LeClair said. “It’s not a lot, but it is one way to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice so we can live in freedom.”

The ceremony was organized by the Palmerton United Veterans Organization and hosted by George Duell, member of the Palmerton American Legion Post 269.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to pause and remember those veterans who have lost their lives,” Duell said of the event.

During Monday’s parade, Joe Uhnak, first vice commander of the Palmerton American Legion Post 269, joined his grandson, 12-year-old Dillon Uhnak, in placing a wreath at the Veterans Memorial. Peyton Mantz, 9, of Girl Scout Troop 3305 of Palmerton, participated in the parade as Miss Poppy 2021, and wreaths were also placed at the Revolutionary Soldier at the police station, and at borough hall.

Palmerton Mayor William Gallagher said the UVO also recently placed over 1,600 American flags on the graves of all the veterans who rest in peace in the cemeteries of Palmerton, Bowmanstown and Trachsville.

“Last Friday,” Gallagher said, “the UVO visited these same cemeteries to offer a prayer, rifle salute and the haunting sounds of a lone bugler honoring those who answered the call of country by playing taps.”

Six veterans, including Uhnak, LeClair, Jack Scott, Steven M. Hahn and Frank Lach, received Quilts of Valor during the ceremony. The handmade quilts, thanking the veterans for their service, have been given out locally each year since 2017.

Palmerton Area High School sophomore Hannah Serfass performed “God Bless America,” while senior Matthew Yurkunas read “In Flanders Field.”

The Palmerton Area High School band played a medley of patriotic tunes.

The crowd also got a chance to hear the late Harry Brown, who passed away last year, read “I Am Your Flag,” one last time via a taped recording. Brown had recited it for many years during the Memorial Day ceremony.

LeClair, last year, was named the 2020 John C. “Ace” Mann Blue Cap of the Year Award recipient.

The award is one of the highest awards given through the American Legion in Pennsylvania. She served two tours in Iraq and one tour in Central America, where she worked on counternarcotics missions, traveling to Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador to work with their militaries in the hopes of stopping drug cartels that were trying to transport drugs into the United States, before returning to the Panther Valley area.

“We’re here today to honor our heroes, remember their courage and dedication, and to say thank you for their sacrifices,” she said. “Thinking of these heroes who join us only in spirit, one can’t help but feel awed by the enormity of what they have encountered in their short, yet heroic lives.”

It isn’t just the men and women who died during battle, LeClair said, who should be remembered on Memorial Day. She also paid tribute to those who lost their lives in training exercises, and those who brought the war home with them and took their own lives.

“Today our troops continue to make the ultimate sacrifice,” she said. “Even if they fall while defending our freedoms, more Americans step forward and say I’m ready to serve. They follow in the footsteps of generations of fine Americans and set an example for generations to come.”