Joe Gordon remembers when, at age 7 or 8, he first marched in Churchtown's Memorial Day parade. That would have been in the 1930s.

"I carried flowers and took them to the grave sites of veterans," recalled the Sperry New Holland retiree, now 82.

On Monday, when the small, historic village in northeast Lancaster County holds its 143rd annual parade, Gordon — a U.S. Army veteran — will take part in honoring fallen soldiers once again, just as he's done almost every year since his childhood.

"You get so accustomed to it, it's part of your life," he said.

Gordon is believed to be the longest-serving participant in what is one of the oldest Memorial Day ceremonies in the nation.

The parade and memorial services in Churchtown date to 1866 and, interestingly enough, are linked to Gordon's grandfather, Joseph Gordon, a Civil War veteran.

"He and some of his cronies who returned from the Civil War, they took their hunting rifles over to the cemeteries here and shot their volleys over the grave of the last soldier buried," Gordon said.

"That's the early history of the parade in Churchtown. It's something we're kind of proud of as a family."

To this day, a firing squad honors the war dead with a rifle salute at each of the town's three cemeteries. And children from the area carry bouquets to the grave sites.

"We have a band play, and veterans marching, but the main part of the parade is not all that," Gordon said. "The main part of the parade is the children."

Several hundred people turn out to honor those who served.

"It's a very special time to celebrate their sacrifices," said Gary VanDyke, a veteran and president of the dozen-or-so-member Caernarvon Memorial Society, which plans the event.

As for Gordon, he's quite a story.

He lives near Churchtown, in the same 1864 stone farmhouse in which he grew up. He married a girl he met at the four-classroom Morgantown High School, and they've been together for 63 years.

"In my senior year of high school, I turned 18, and at that time you had to register for the draft," he said. "I registered, and a couple of months after I was inducted into the service. I was sent overseas."

Gordon spent about two years in Germany in the 1st Tank Battalion of the 1st Armored Division before being discharged in 1946. He came back home to Churchtown, worked with his father as a carpenter and then got a job making hay bailers at what was then New Holland Machine Co.

Gordon, the organist at the town's United Methodist church, spent this week helping to prepare for Monday's Memorial Day ceremonies. He, his wife and several other members of Caernarvon Memorial Society placed small American flags at some 160 grave sites. The flags from the previous year are reused.

"I save them and sort them. The ones that are torn, discolored or have come off their staff, I dispose of those," he said. "The ones remaining, we put up on telephone poles. We put two of them up and cross them with staples.

"My wife and I have been doing that together for quite some time. We look forward to it."

For him, the Memorial Day events are just as much about family tradition — beginning with his grandfather in 1866 — as they are about honoring veterans. On Monday, his oldest son will take part.

"One of the things I'm proudest of," said Gordon, "is my oldest son — he's a Vietnam veteran — is presently in charge of the firing squad. He will lead the group to the cemeteries.

"That's pretty special to me."

E-mail: tmurse@lnpnews.com or call 481-6021