Matthew McNally, Berlin’s chief of police and a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, will be the guest speaker at the town’s 2023 Memorial Day ceremony.

McNally’s remarks will be made at Berlin Veterans Memorial Park on Monday, May 29, following the Memorial Day parade.

The parade sets off at 9 a.m. and will travel down Farmington Avenue and turn left onto Massirio Drive, passing Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10732. The parade will then turn left onto Veterans Way and end at Veterans Memorial Park.

A flyover by the CT Air National Guard will occur during the parade. 

The Veterans Memorial Park ceremony will take place from 9:45 to 10:05 a.m.

Along with McNally’s remarks, the Memorial Day ceremony will include an invocation by U.S. Air Force veteran Clifford P. Cote, a rifle volley by members of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10732 and American Legion Post 68, and performances by Berlin High School’s Madrigal Singers and Saxophone Quartet, and trumpeters Evan Paone and Peyton Miller.

In the event of rain, the ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10732, 152 Massirio Drive.

Chief of Police Matthew McNally has 40 years of experience in successfully prosecuting hundreds of criminal cases, and has spoken extensively on issues of criminal justice, homeland security and forensic science.

McNally is a FBI-trained, POST-certified police instructor for law enforcement officers throughout the Connecticut Police Academy system. His particular emphasis has been on training and developing Crime Scene Investigators and Critical Incident Response and Management for first-line supervisors and management personnel.

Also, for many years, McNally has served as an adjunct professor at both Goodwin University in East Hartford and Western Connecticut State University.

A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, McNally comes from a family tradition of military service dating back to the American Revolution.

As an avid reader of historical non-fiction, McNally is a dedicated student of American history, in particular, that of the U.S. military and legal jurisprudence.