to the Memorial Day Committee for organizing the parade, ceremony, and activities into a seamless stream of community events,

to Hampton Elementary School and its float, Parish Hill High School’s marching band, our local scouts, and all of the parade participants, individuals and vehicles alike,

to the Congregational Church for providing a delicious (and free!) pancake breakfast, and the Hampton Gazette for providing the best chicken barbecue east of the Mississippi for lunch,

to all who participated in the ceremony – those who provided music, and those who provided words, and to all who participated in the naval ceremony along the Little River,

to the horses and riders entertaining us in the field after the ceremony, and to the Recreation Commission for sponsoring the Bar Stool Diplomats to entertain us in the pavilion,

to the Historical Society and their display of military uniforms from the Civil War to the present,

and to Grand Marshall, Jamie Boss, who produced a masterful video for us chronicling his “Year in Vietnam”.

Year after year, our premier community event, and the dedication of all involved, bestows us with the very best of Americana, making Hampton a place “worth coming home to”.