|
Canton's Memorial Day Parade
On Monday, May 27, Canton's Memorial Day Parade will step off promptly at 10 a.m. from the Canton Intermediate School, 39 Dyer Ave. in Collinsville; participants will assemble at 9:30 a.m. Prior to the official activities, over 600 flags will have been placed on all Veterans' graves to honor the sacrifices made by those men and women.
Past Post Commander Charles R. Hammond of Albert Johnson Post 90, American Legion will lead the line of march down Dyer Avenue to Maple Avenue, to Bridge Street, Main Street and Center Street and on to the Village Cemetery for the ceremonies. Master of Ceremonies at the commemoration will be Lt. Col. Ralph M. Kilburn, U.S. Army, a Canton native and resident.
The principal speaker at the commemorative ceremony will be Retired Major Roy Fox (U.S.A.R.). While in the U.S. Army plus U.S.A.R. until 1963, Fox advanced from Private to Major with many assignments both in combat and through the command and General Staff College. He served in the D-Day invasion in Normandy as well as in the capture of Remagen Bridge; he also served eleven months of combat in Northern Europe. He is a former member of the Board of Education, the Economic Development Commission, member of the Canton Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club, and former member of the school building committee. He is a graduate of the University of Vermont with a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering.
The Iwo Jima Survivors Association will participate in Canton's Parade. The marchers carry the 15' x 25' flag horizontally, symbolizing the flag over the casket in a military burial ceremony, in memory of and in tribute to the 6,800 Americans who gave their lives at Iwo Jima. (The Association unveiled and dedicated their Iwo Jima Flag Raising Memorial National Monument on February 23, 1995, the 50th Anniversary of the flag raising on Iwo Jima. You are invited to visit the National Memorial Monument on Iwo Jima Memorial Expressway, at the New Britain-Newington town line. The Memorial Monument was conceived and designed by Dr. George Gentile, an Iwo Jima survivor and former Canton resident.)
The Canton High School Band, under the direction of Mr. Thomas Scavone, Director of Music, will play "The Star Spangled Banner." "Taps" will be played by Christian Staudacher, son of Dr. and Mrs. David Staudacher. "Echo" will be played by Matt Podesla, son of Mark and Susan Podesla. "Lincoln's Gettysburg Address" will be delivered by 7th grader David Gunsallus, son of Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Gunsallus. "In Flanders' Field" will be given by 7th grader McCrae Hathaway, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eric Hathaway. "The American Creed," written in 1917 by William T. Page, will be delivered by 8th grader Lisa Evans, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Greg Evans.
The commemorative wreath will be placed by Past Post Commander Mitchell S. Bialicki at the Canton Memorial Monument at Village Cemetery, before the gun salute. The invocation and benediction will be given by the Rev. Ronald P. May, Pastor of St. Patrick's Catholic Church.
|
|
