The annual Memorial Day parade in Princeton Borough will be a family affair with a father-and-son set of generals leading the event.
Retired Brigadier Gen. Kenneth Rieth will serve as the parade’s grand marshal and his son, Brigadier Gen. Glenn Rieth, will be the keynote speaker at a ceremony after the parade, slated for Saturday, May 24, said Frank Tylus, parade chairman and member of Spirit of Princeton the group that sponsors and organizes the parade as well as the July fireworks show.
"This year will be the best one yet," Mr. Tylus predicted.
Both generals will be escorted by honor guards from the New Jersey State Police, Princeton University Reserve Officers Training Corps and the 305th Air Mobility Wing from Maguire Air Force Base.
Three Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps groups will march in the parade Trenton Central High School JROTC, which has participated for the past five years, Pemberton Township High School JROTC and St. Peters High School of New Brunswick JROTC.
The parade will also feature performances by six musical groups including Colonial Musketeers Fife and Drum Corps of Hackettstown, MacGregor Pipe Band of Ivyland, Pa., and the Burlington City High Blue Devils, Burlington.
The parade will kick off at 10 a.m. on Princeton Avenue and proceed west on Nassau Street to Princeton Borough Hall, where a ceremony will be held at about 11:15 a.m. in the flag court of Battlefield Monument Park.
This year’s theme, like last year’s, will be a salute to Korean War veterans and Korean-Americans living in the Princeton area and South Jersey. A group of dancers and musicians will accompany a delegation from the Korean American Association of New Jersey.
The parade will also be a tribute to the heroes of the Sept. 11 attacks. Veterans of all wars as well as friends and relatives of those who perished on Sept. 11 are welcome to join the line of march or attend ceremonies following the parade.
For more information, call (609) 921-3800.

