PITTSFIELD — Under gray skies, the line of march was neither long nor flashy.

There was no marching band, only groups of veterans and their supporters, who walked or rode through downtown Pittsfield on Monday morning.

The rain held off.

Friends and family of the late Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher walk down North Street during the 2026 Memorial Day parade on Monday.

At Pittsfield Cemetery, more than 250 people waited at the granite gate for the veterans to arrive. The Memorial Day ceremony included the posting of colors, the Pledge of Allegiance led by Scouts, opening remarks by Mayor Peter Marchetti, prayers, a gun volley and the playing of taps.

On the sidewalk on North Street, Debbie Cooper was wearing a patriotic hat and waving a flag.

“I support the veterans and I pray for the people that lost their loved ones,” she said.

Bill Goodrich was also watching the parade. His father, William E. Goodrich, was a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II. He said he came to honor his father's memory and others.

“He was more proud once he got home,” Goodrich recalled. “The American Flag had to be the first thing that he put up every morning."

Jack Clark was at the cemetery. He was drafted by the U.S. Army in 1969. He served as a radio operator for a year in Vietnam.

“I’ve got friends that died in Vietnam and relatives that died in World War II,” said Clark, of Dalton. “This is just a yearly thing, got to come up, pay our respects to people who come here and do this, because they died for us.”

A woman waves from the Italian American War Veterans' car during the Memorial Day parade.

During the ceremony, Marchetti spoke of his appreciation for the moment of reflection he engages in as he places a flag on his own father’s grave in preparation for Memorial Day.

He also read the poem, “In Flanders Fields,” written during World War I by Canadian Lt. Col. John McCrae.

The 2026 Memorial Day parade in Pittsfield walks down North Street on Monday.

Will Bateson, director of Pittsfield Veterans' Services, thanked those who helped make the ceremony possible, including to the Berkshire Veterans Coalition.

“The work you do all over this city and county is remarkable, and today wouldn’t have happened without you,” he said. “For those who served, and for families who might recognize the old adage, 'if it ain’t rainin’, we ain’t trainiin.’' Man, do I hate that saying, but it’s usually never more true. Today included.”

“All gave some. Some gave all,” said Bateson, the keynote speaker. “In my experience, few words are so true.”

Veterans walk down North Street during the 2026 Memorial Day parade on Monday.

Bateson wears a bracelet every day in honor of Dan Goodman, with whom he served in the U.S. Marine Corps. “As is too often the case, yesterday marks the five-year anniversary of the day he was taken from us, all too soon.

“'Gunny' Goodman, as I knew him, was a phenomenal leader and Marine, but he was also a beloved public school teacher, father and husband and son," Bateson said.

Bateson said Goodman served with incredible distinction, including in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Veterans place poppies in an urn at Pittsfield Cemetery in memory of veterans who have died within the past year, Monday, May 25, 2026.

“Tragically, a battle no one knew he was fighting didn’t go his way, and we lost him,” Bateson said. “Perhaps just as tragic, I am confident that this story is not so unfamiliar from those known by many others here today and within our community. I know for a fact it is all too true within our nation.”

A total of 78 poppies were placed in urn at Pittsfield Cemetery in honor of each of the veterans who died in the past year.

Bateson shared Goodman’s story not only to honor him but also to consider all those who have served.

“I ask everyone here to consider what these men and women fought for, why they served, fought and gave their lives.”

Will Bateson wears a bracelet every day in memory of Dan "Gunny" Goodman, a fellow U.S. Marine Corps veteran.

Bateson read the names of the 78 Pittsfield veterans who died within the past year as commanders of each branch of service placed a poppy in an urn in their memory.

In his benediction, retired U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Rob Ecc spoke of the 150-year tradition of Memorial Day.

“Here again we stand where another conflict or war is happening, where 13 members of our family have already died, where 380 are already wounded and we’re adding to the list," he said. "The sailors on the ships near Iran, the Marines that are sitting on the vessel Tripoli, the airmen on the various bases in the Middle East, and those Army troopers that are at the ready.

“We can only imagine that today we honor the dead but we may also be honoring the living, for God forbid, we could be adding them to our list next time we gather."

On Memorial Day, William "Bill" Sturgeon, at left, finds himself thinking of men he served with in Vietnam who didn't make it home.

After the ceremony, William “Bill” Sturgeon, who served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, reflected on what Memorial Day means to him.

“It was sad for me, as it always is, because I’m 79 and I left so many of my friends there at 19,” said Sturgeon. “I think of them often, and always, forever around Memorial Day, but through the year, too.”