The military color guard marches down Main Street in Wilmington during the Memorial Day Parade, Monday. (Josh Stilts/Reformer)

WILMINGTON -- It was standing room only in Memorial Hall Monday morning as hundreds filed in to pay tribute to the men and women who have and are serving in the armed forces. They were reminded of one thing, "Freedom isn't free."

"Today we remember the names we know and those we don't, who served this country with honor and laid down their lives in sacrifice so that we may have our freedom," said Town Moderator Frank Spencer during a Memorial Day service in Wilmington.

He asked if anyone in the room knew of someone currently serving in the military and one-by-one the people in the audience spoke the names of their loved ones, each one receiving a huge applause from the crowd.

Throughout Windham County, dozens of Main Streets were filled with people paying tribute to all the members of the military, like in Brattleboro where the crowd gathered on the town common and listened as Richard Hodgdon, commandant of the Marine Corps League, shared his thoughts about those who served and those still serving, and in Hinsdale, N.H., where flowers were tossed into the river and the VFW Post 4234 fired off a gun salute to all the fallen soldiers.

Sylvester and Colleen Murphy, of Brattleboro, visited the graves of loved ones, many of whom served in the military like Sylvester.

"We've lost friends and family," Sylvester, who served in the Navy from 1957 to 1977, said. "We thought this was the best way to spend Memorial Day."

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Wendy Pratt, one of the event organizers for the Memorial Day celebration, said the brave soldiers had yet to be recognized for their service and that it needed to change.

"Vietnam veterans were my era and a lot of us are not aware of how difficult it was for these soldiers coming home," she said. "There were protests and turbulence and they weren't welcome all of the time."

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'Freedom isn't free'