Cortlandt to Honor the Fallen with Commemorative Ceremony on Friday

Peekskill, Buchanan, other communities also are hosting Memorial weekend tributes

Memorial Day observance held in Peekskill in 2023, part of the region’s annual commemorative calendar.

By Ariana Almeida-Martínez, [email protected]

May 22, 2025

Cortlandt’s 2024 Memorial Day ceremony, presided over by Supervisor Dr. Richard Becker (center). (Cortlandt Town Hall)

Cortlandt will pay tribute to fallen service members with a commemorative ceremony on Friday, May 23. Beginning at 1 p.m., in the Vincent F. Nyberg general meeting room at Cortlandt Town Hall (1 Heady Street), members of the community will gather to mark Memorial Day and remember those who gave their lives for the nation.

The event, organized by the Cortlandt Regional Veterans Committee with the support of local authorities, is expected to last over an hour. During the program, the names of patriots who fought for the United States in the Civil War, World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the War on Terror will be read aloud.

The ceremony will feature remarks from local representatives, war veterans, town council members, and community leaders. Their speeches will be accompanied by national hymns and military march music. The event is sponsored by Town Supervisor Dr. Richard H. Becker with Town Board members James F. Creighton, Cristin Jacoby, Robert E. Mayes, and Joyce C. White. The Cortlandt Regional Veterans Committee, led by president William Nazario and vice president Walter Rozanski, will also be in attendance.

The event is open to the public and does not require prior registration.

The Cortlandt ceremonies are part of a broader calendar of commemorative activities during Memorial Day weekend that are held across northern Westchester County. Peekskill has scheduled its ceremony for 10 a.m. Monday, May 26, at Monument Park (Highland Avenue. and North Division Street).

Also on Monday, May 26, at 11 a.m., a parade and ceremony will take place in the communities of Buchanan, Montrose, and Verplanck. The procession will begin at Hendrick Hudson High School and end at the Veterans Pavilion in Buchanan (210 Westchester Avenue). Neighboring towns will also host brief ceremonies, wreath-laying, and speeches.

About the Contributors

Ariana Almeida-Martínez, Events Reporter

Ariana is an Ecuadorian journalist with over 15 years of experience in both print and digital media. Throughout her career, she has covered a wide range of topics, including community issues, judicial affairs, entertainment, refugees, and human rights. She has reported and written for two prominent newspapers in Quito, Diario Hoy and Diario Extra. In 2023, Ariana moved to Peekskill in pursuit of new professional challenges, with the aim of captivating the readers of the Peekskill Herald with her engaging stories.

Jim Roberts

Jim Roberts has been in this business for more than 35 years (hard to believe) and still learning every day. A third-generation Peekskill resident, he started as a lowly researcher at the Westchester Business Journal in 1986 and learned how to be a reporter from many veterans in the field. He’s worked in private companies, Connecticut state government and wrote for the Co-op City Times for 10 years before retiring from full-time work in 2019. Roberts wants to contribute to building the Herald into a news website for residents who care about what’s happening in Peekskill.