Memoral Day parade to honor past and present veterans

The parade begins at 10 a.m., Saturday at Stonicker Drive and Princeton Pike and concludes at Veterans Park.

By:Lea Kahn Staff Writer
Military veterans — from World War II through the present day — will be honored Saturday when the annual Memorial Day parade steps off promptly at 10 a.m., according to township Superintendent of Recreation Steven Groeger.
   About two dozen World War II veterans, plus a handful of veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq, have signed on to march in the parade, Mr. Groeger said. The parade route follows Princeton Pike to Darrah Lane and Birchwood Knoll, and then into Veterans Park for a short ceremony.
   The ceremony includes the placing of a wreath at the Veterans Memorial, Mr. Groeger said. Mothers whose children were killed fighting in the various wars will be recognized, as will the families of sailors or soldiers who were held as prisoners of war, or who are still missing.
   Noting that the Memorial Day parade has a different theme every year, Mr. Groeger said the theme this year is "Past Meets Present." Previous parades have honored women in the military, as well as veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
   "It is the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II and the 30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War — that’s the ‘past,’" he said. "The ‘present’ is in the war in Iraq."
   This year, U.S. Air Force Col. Dennis D’Angelo — a 1969 graduate of Lawrence High School — will serve as the parade’s grand marshal, he said. The honorary grand marshal is retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. Joseph File.
   Marchers include color guards from the U.S. Marine Corps, the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, and the Lawrence Township Police Department.
   Veterans groups, including American Legion Post 414, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3022, and Vietnam Veterans United — as well as Italian war veterans and Ukrainian war veterans — also will take part in the parade.
   Township resident William Agress will portray Revolutionary War hero Col. Edward Hand, whose men held off an advance of British and Hessian troops marching south through Lawrence on Jan. 2, 1777 — a maneuver that protected Gen. George Washington’s troops in Trenton. The Lawrence Historical Society also plans to march in the parade.
   The Lawrence Township public schools will send representatives to participate in the parade, including the four elementary schools and Lawrence Intermediate School. The children will march or ride on a float. Students from St. Ann School also will take part.
   Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, along with representatives of the Lawrence Hamnetts and Lawrence Little League, also will take part in the parade, Mr. Groeger said.
   Community groups marching in the parade include the Knights of Columbus, the Garden Gate Garden Club, the Lawrence Lions, the Mom’s Club of Lawrence and the Poetry Society.
   The marchers will be accompanied by music, provided by the Lia Fail Bagpipers and the Lawrence High School Red Scare Band.
   The Lawrenceville, Lawrence Road and Slackwood fire companies, plus the Lawrence Township First Aid and Rescue Squad, plan to participate in the parade.