If your weekend plans involve a casual stroll on the Piermont Pier, you can’t miss the towering 21 foot high bonfire at the end of the pier. It’s a Watchfire, a Memorial Day* tradition with roots going back to the Revolutionary War.
“Since 1987, Rockland County’s Vietnam Veterans have come together to build such fires according to the military regulations and specifications of the 1700’s.
* Watchfires are built every year on May 30th, the traditional Memorial Day. They are lit at midnight and burn until dawn on Memorial Day, then refueled at dark and burn til midnight again. Veterans stand watch, changing shifts through the night, and day, and night, as they had a generation ago.”
—Vietnam Veterans of America, Rockland County’s Chapter
Watchfires are lit by veterans all over the state on the traditional Memorial Day, May 30. In Rockland County, Watchfires will be ignited at 11:30p on 5/29 at the Piermont Pier and Clausland Mountain Park.
See also:
- Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter #333, Rockland County, NY
- Journal News, 5/27/2011
- 2009 Piermont Watchfire on YouTube from janetreubig
