Parades are scheduled for five areas of Brooklyn on the Sunday and Monday of Memorial Day weekend. On Sunday, May 27, residents of Plumb Beach will mark the day with a parade kicking off at 12:30 p.m.
from the corner of Ocean and Emmons Avenue. Marchers will proceed along Emmons to the Veterans Memorial south of Haring Street. This is the first time in several years the Plumb Beach parade has been held, and organizers are hoping for a solid turnout, beginning with those who turn out each year for a service at the Veterans Memorial.
Among those who are scheduled to participate are the Kings Bay Little League and the Bishop Kearney High School marching band. In addition, elected officials, representatives of Community Board 15 and other area civic associations have been invited to join in, and there will be a barbecue for participants, hosted by Kings Bay Little League, following the parade. In conjunction with the parade, there will also be an essay contest (for children in grades three through five) and an art contest (for children in kindergarten through grade two) for students in local schools, administered in conjunction with the parade.
This year, said Barbara Berardelli, the corresponding secretary of the Sheepshead Bay-Plumb Beach Civic Association, the students would be asked to write letters to members of the armed forces serving in Iraq. The winning student will receive a savings bond and all the students will have the satisfaction of knowing that their letters will be read by servicemen and women on active duty. Berardelli said that the group, in trying to bring back the parade, is trying to bring back the spirit of the Memorial Day parade we had many years ago.
Also on Sunday, May 27, the Greenpoint Memorial Day parade will be held. Now in its seventh year, the event occurs, In honor of all veterans, living and deceased, according to co-founder Jim Feith. Marchers will step off at 9 a.
m. from the American Legion Headquarters at 519 Leonard Street, and head up Manhattan Avenue, to St. Alphonsus parish hall on Java Street, where a memorial service will be held.
Following the service, parade participants will head back to the American Legion post and hold a service outside. That service, said Feith, is a, Rededication of our flagpole in honor of World War I veterans. This year, he added, The theme is the 90th anniversary of the end of hostilities in World War I.
Approximately 250 people are expected to march in the parade, which is organized by the Greenpoint Parade Committee, which itself draws its members from three organizations, St. Stanislaus Memorial Post 1771 of the American Legion, the Knights of Columbus Lexington Council 293 and the Greenpoint Slovak Club. Also participating in the parade will be the U.
S. Navy Band, the District 14 High School Band, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Band and a contingent of sailors and Marines from the ships that are in for Fleet Week, as well as members of several organizations, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Catholic War Veterans, and various militia and cadet groups. The grand marshal will be community resident Ed Hanley, who has been extremely supportive of the parade, said Feith.
On Memorial Day, Monday, May 28, the remainder of the parades will be held. In Gerritsen Beach, local residents will gather together for their annual tribute, which is organized by Argonne Post 107, beginning at 10 a.m.
on May 28 at Plumb 2nd Street and Whitney Avenue. The route takes marchers across Gerritsen Avenue, to Burnett Street and Whitney Avenue, where they will stop at the VFW Memorial to lay numerous wreathes and play taps. From there, marchers head along Gerritsen Avenue to St.
James Church, where there is a World War II memorial in the garden that is 60 years old this year. Then, it s on to the E.J.
Matthews Knights of Columbus Hall, with a stop being made at a memorial that honors two local residents who died in action during the Vietnam War. Many local organizations take part. These include the Gerritsen Beach vollies, the Gerritsen Community Marching Band, the Knights of Columbus, the Little League, the Resurrection Softball League, the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts, the Gerritsen Beach Property Owners, the Cort Club, the St.
James Sunday School and Gerritsen Beach Cares. In Bay Ridge, a large crowd is expected to turn out for the 140th annual Memorial Day parade sponsored by the United War Veterans of Kings County. The parade is billed as the longest-running continuous Memorial Day parade in the United States, dating back to the days when Brooklyn was a city.
According to Ted General, one of the parade organizers, it will kick off at 11 a.m. on May 28, from 87th Street and Third Avenue, wending its way up Third Avenue to Marine Avenue, where it marchers will head over to Fourth Avenue and continue along to 101st Street, where there will be a ceremony in John Paul Jones Park that includes a wreath-laying and a 21-gun rifle salute.
Among the notables who will be on hand are Grand Marshal Howard Golden, Brooklyn s former borough president; Honorary Grand Marshal Marty Markowitz, the borough s current borough president; and parade Chairperson Peter De Angelis. Colonel Tracey Nicholson, the commanding officer of Fort Hamilton, is tentatively scheduled to be the reviewing officer. Numerous veterans groups are expected to participate in the event, which draws as many as 2,500 participants.
Among them are Disabled American Veterans (DAV), the Jewish War Veterans, the Ex-POWs, the American Merchant Marine Veterans, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Vietnam Veterans of America, the American Legion, the Women s Veterans of America, the New York Naval Militia, the Fleet Reserve Association, the Korean War Veterans, the Nam Knights, Rolling Thunder, New York POW-MIA personnel, and the 715 Veterans Association. The lead group will be the Order of the Purple Heart. Members of the military will also be on hand, including a contingent of sailors and Marines in town for Fleet Week.
Eleven bands have already confirmed their attendance at the parade, including the Drum Line Band and some high school marching bands. Vehicles including a couple of vintage fire trucks will be available to transport people who want to participate in the parade but who are unable to walk the distance. The Canarsie Memorial Day Parade, which also will be held on Monday, May 28, will be preceded by a pair of memorial services.
First, at 10 a.m., a memorial service will be held at the Canarsie Memorial Circle at Canarsie Pier.
Then, at 10:40 a.m., there will be a memorial service at Canarsie Cemetery, Remsen Avenue and Avenue K.
Wreathes will be laid at both services. Line up for the parade begins at 11:15 a.m.
at the American Legion Post 573, at Conklin Avenue and East 92nd Street, with the parade kicking off at 11:30 a.m. Marchers will head down Conklin Avenue toward Rockaway Parkway, turning on Rockaway Parkway and proceeding to Avenue M, then continuing along Avenue M to Remsen Avenue.
The marchers will walk along Remsen Avenue to Canarsie Cemetery, where they will observe a moment o silence, then continue along until they reach Conklin Avenue, returning to the American Legion hall, where there will be a memorial service, followed by a collation at 1:15 p.m. About 400 to 500 people are expected to participate, said Carlton Richardson, the parade organizer.
Among them are contingents from the Marine ROTC of Thomas Jefferson High School, the Boy Scouts, the New Utrecht High School Marching Band, the Soul Tiger Marching Band, the Black Cowboys Association, the Marine Corps League color guard, the Canarsie Veterans of Foreign Wars post, the Canarsie American Legion post, the Marine Corps recruiting center in Canarsie, the Coast Guard recruiting center in Canarsie, the Fire Department, the New York Police Department, the NYPD Explorers and Auxiliaries, various local civic associations and local politicians. We re looking for the community to pay their respects to the people who have sacrificed so we can enjoy our freedoms, noted Richardson. Whether you are in favor of the current war or not, our mission is to show people that we pay respect to people who made the ultimate sacrifice.
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