Veterans upset by parade's cancellation
The Butler Memorial Day Parade has been canceled for the first time in its history, and the county's Veterans Services director is not happy about it.
“This is Memorial Day and it's a special day,” said John Cyprian, who has been organizing the event for more than 30 years. “These are the individuals we memorialize who we lost on the battlefield preserving our rights and our freedom.”
He said he is more upset about canceling the Memorial Day Parade, which was to have been held Monday, May 25, on Main Street in Butler, than he would be about canceling the Veterans Day Parade.
“I'm not happy about it,” Cyprian said. “On Veterans Day, we celebrate the end of the wars, but Memorial Day is a more solemn occasion.”
In addition to the question of social distancing at a parade, Cyprian said the main reason he had to cancel the event was the lack of a PennDOT permit to hold the parade.
Without a parade permit, city police could not shut down Main Street and ambulance services could not use their plan for alternate routes.
“If you do it regardless and there's an emergency, you're putting everyone else in jeopardy,” Cyprian said. “There's a lot more to it than 'Hey, let's have a parade.'”
He said Harrisville and Chicora have also canceled their Memorial Day parades.
The usual memorial service at Adams Township Park will be a virtual event, Cyprian said. Zelienople also canceled its Memorial Day remembrance.
Cyprian did not have any participants lined up for the parade, as the high schools that would have provided marching bands are closed and the Boy and Girl Scout troops that normally march are not meeting.
“That just leaves a few fire trucks and an ambulance,” Cyprian said.
He knows many Butler County veterans look forward to the parade and will be disappointed that it's canceled.
“I would still say 'thank you for your service,'” Cyprian said of those veterans. “Hopefully this will be the only time we have to do this.”
