MILLSTONE — Community organizations that want to participate in the annual Millstone Township Memorial Day parade and Honors Ceremony on May 25 are being asked to contact the event’s organizers now.
William Nurko, who chairs the Millstone Township Veterans Memorial Council, is inviting everyone in the community to attend the parade that will begin at 10 a.m., rain or shine.
Nurko said between 400 and 500 people are expected to attend the event that honors members of America’s armed forces who died serving the nation.
The parade will begin at the Clarksburg Post Office on Stagecoach Road (Route 524) and end at the veterans memorial next to the municipal building.
There will be parking available at Bowman Court and at the Millstone Community Center and the Clarksburg Inn, both on Stagecoach Road. Parade-goers are asked to arrive and park by 9:30 a.m.
Following the parade, there will be an honor ceremony held at the veterans memorial. A representative of the New Jersey National Guard will give the keynote address.
Angela Bernier will sing verses of “Taps.” Dr. Scott Palmer and Jim Brockman will play ghost “Taps” on bugle and trumpet.
After the honor ceremony, the Clarksburg Inn will host a free barbecue to the attending public. A cash bar will be available for sodas and other drinks.
“My message would be that Memorial Day is more than cookouts or a day off from work,” Nurko said. “It is a time of remembrance for those service personnel who gave all. It is a time to come out and show your support for our armed forces and veterans.”
For Nurko, the day will be bittersweet on more than one level. He served in the Vietnam War, and Memorial Day brings up memories of his time in the military. He served on active duty in the Navy for three years and spent 22 years in the Naval Reserve.
Nurko said he will always remember serving two deployments in the Gulf of Tonkin onboard a destroyer operating off the coast of South Vietnam.
“I think it is very important to remember all those who have made the supreme sacrifice to preserve the freedoms we enjoy today,” Nurko said.
Nurko, who is a former member of the Township Committee, became chairman of the Millstone Township Veterans Memorial Council when his friend Rick Brody died in November 2014. Before that, Nurko was the council’s vice chairman, working under Brody’s leadership.
“The highlight of the Memorial Day celebration for me will be if I am half as successful as Rick Brody was at coordinating a meaningful and noteworthy event.
“I dearly miss Rick Brody. He was a truly honorable and dedicated military man, and a good friend. He left some big shoes for me to fill, and I hope he is proudly looking down on me and that I can measure up to his standards,” Nurko said.
Planning for the parade and ceremony began in January. Nurko said the event’s organizers have been working hard to make the day a success.
Nurko encourages community organizations that want to march in the parade or enter a float to obtain a registration form at the municipal building or on Millstone’s website. Registration will be accepted up to the day of the parade.
For more information, contact Frank Simacek, parade chairman, at 732-446- 9753, or Nurko at 609-443-1974.