The Village of Mineola held a reverent Memorial Day ceremony at the Village Hall Community Center Monday afternoon after canceling the annual parade due to the local weather forecast.

Residents packed into the community center, where young Scouts lined the walls and carried American flags, ornate red, white and blue wreaths stood behind the podium and a giant American flag hung from the wall.

“Today, we Americans across the country commemorate the brave servicemen and servicewomen who died defending our country,” Mayor Paul Pereira said. “Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer, often a weekend filled with family get-togethers, pool parties, parades and backyard cookouts, but the true meaning of Memorial Day is a much more solemn occasion. At its heart, Memorial Day is a day to solemnly honor all the men and women who have died in the U.S. military service.”

Local organizations, including the Mineola Fire Department, the Mineola Historical Society, the Portuguese Center, the Village of Mineola, the Chamber of Commerce, Troop 45 and the Catholic Daughters, donated wreaths that were transported to Memorial Park after the service.

Local officials attended the ceremony, including state Sen. Jack Martins, Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, Legislator Scott Strauss, Councilmen Dennis Walsh and Ed Scott, Assemblyman Ed Ra and members of the Mineola Village Board.

A group of veterans from Mineola Veterans of Foreign Wars attended the ceremony, wearing their army hats. Two young staff sergeants were at the ceremony in their uniforms.

“Today obviously though is not about myself or any of the veterans here. It’s about the people who didn’t come home,” one staff sergeant said. “We learn about them in history and to us, they’re numbers on a page, but in reality they were men and women, or fathers and mothers, siblings, children, who didn’t come home, who had aspirations and goals of their own that went unfulfilled.”

A World War II veteran and former Army sergeant, Anthony Catalano earned a standing ovation from the large crowd. The 103-year-old longtime Mineola resident waved, smiled and cracked jokes during the applause.

Scouts handed out pins bearing the American flag and the word “veteran” to all of the vets in attendance, including those in the audience who were not in uniform.

The ceremony ended with a prayer and a bugle performance.