New Canaan did something this Memorial Day that not every town does anymore. It remembered.
It remembered with care, with intention, and with the kind of understated dignity that defines small towns that take their responsibilities seriously. There were no gimmicks. Just a group of people—neighbors, mostly—who showed up. That’s how it starts every year at Lakeview Cemetery, and that’s how it happened again this year.
About 200 people gathered early Saturday morning to place flags on the graves of veterans. The crowd included families with children, scouts in uniform, firefighters, members of the local VFW, and plenty of longtime residents. No one was there for attention. They were there because they understood something basic and right: that the people who served this country, especially those who never made it home, deserve to be remembered—not with speeches alone, but with effort.
The flags don’t place themselves. The project, now a fixture of Memorial Day in New Canaan, began about 15 years ago when John Wilson, a local scout, took it on as an Eagle project. He created a database of veterans’ graves with the help of his family and Troop 70. The list has grown, covering not just Lakeview but other cemeteries in town. The Wilsons are still involved, still helping, still avoiding the spotlight.
The parade on Monday was no less respectful. It was traditional in the best sense—local, organized, and meaningful. It began at St. Mark’s Church, with the Exchange Club handing out flags along the route. You saw scout troops, sports teams, the town band, the fire department, church groups, veterans marching with the VFW. People waved, children smiled, and in the front yards along the parade route, a few families hosted quiet cookouts. It wasn’t loud patriotism—it was warm, local patriotism. The kind that doesn’t try to impress. The kind that knows exactly what it’s doing.
At the end of the parade, everyone gathered again at Lakeview Cemetery for the Memorial Day ceremony. First Selectman Dionna Carlson put it clearly: this is a day to “honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation,” and that it is “above all a time of reverent remembrance”.
Major Charles Paksi, a Marine veteran and guest speaker, reminded the crowd what Memorial Day is. He spoke plainly, directly: “They raised their hand. They took the oath. They’re going to defend your country—our country—and they died while doing it.” Then he told the story of a fellow Marine, Domingo Real, who was killed in Somalia at age 21. He took the toughest job, kept fighting even after he was wounded, and saved others. “Domingo did his job because he loved the Marines he fought with,” Paksi said.
In his remarks, VFW Commander Mike McGlinn reminded everyone that over 1,300 flags had been placed by volunteers just two days earlier. “Nothing should stand in the way of remembering,” he said.
And that’s really the point. New Canaan knows how to remember. It remembers its veterans not just with words, but with action—with a scout’s project, a child’s small hand planting a flag, a firefighter showing up at an old cemetery, a community gathering to stand together.
It’s not complicated. But it’s not automatic, either. It takes people showing up. It takes people caring.
And New Canaan still does.
