A retired Air Force veteran will lead this year’s Memorial Day celebrations throughout Hillsborough Township later this month.
During the Hillsborough Township Committee Meeting on May 8, officials named Tim Coyle as the 2018 Grand Marshal for the Memorial Day Commemoration Ceremony.
According to event planners, Coyle will lead the Memorial Day Parade from its starting point at the intersection of Auten and Triangle Roads at 10:30 a.m.
From there, the parade will continue along Auten Road, onto New Amwell Road and then onto Beekman Lane, ultimately coming to an end at the Garden of Honor, located at the Peter J. Biondi Municipal Building.
Once there, Coyle will be the featured speaker during the Garden of Honor Ceremony, which is slated to begin at 11:15 a.m.
Mayor Gloria McCauley touted Coyle’s selection as an easy one, given his background.
“What more fitting way to honor our veterans at the Salute to Veterans Breakfast, but to also have them lead our parade and then finally having our Grand Marshal address the crowd during the Garden of Honor Ceremonies,” she said.
Coyle served from October 1966 to October 1970 during the Vietnam conflict at Kadena Air Force base in Okinawa, Japan as a fuel specialist. He began his military career as an airman and worked his way up to sergeant after four years.
Since leaving the military, Coyle came to Hillsborough 27 years ago. He now calls the township home with his wife Sue, who helped raise their three children. He is also a volunteer firefighter and the ex-chief of the Woods Road Fire Department.
All Hillsborough veterans are invited to participate in the Salute to Veterans Breakfast and to lead Hillsborough’s Memorial Day Parade and Commemoration program.
Registration is required for the breakfast and can be completed online at the township’s Parks and Recreation website, by calling the Parks and Recreation Department at 908-369-4832 or by completing the paper registration form.
The day’s festivities will kick off during the breakfast at the municipal building starting at 7:30 a.m., rain or shine. The parade will follow at the intersection of Auten and Triangle Roads, starting at 10:30 a.m.
The ceremony at the Garden of Honor, at 11:15 a.m., will conclude the formal events for the day. The rain date for the parade and Garden of Honor ceremony is Sunday, May 27.