ELMHURST PAYS TRIBUTE TO VETERANS
AT 86TH ANNUAL MEMORIAL DAY PARADE
ELMHURST, Monday, May 24, 2004 – Elmhurst will pay tribute to veterans at its 86th Annual Memorial Day Parade through downtown Elmhurst on Monday, May 31, starting at 9:30 a.m. A Post-Parade Military Ceremony will be held at the Elmhurst Veterans Memorial in Wilder Park at around 11:30 a.m.
The 2004 Parade is presented by the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Elmhurst American Legion T.H.B. Post 187, Elmhurst Veterans of Foreign Wars Walter A. Glos Post 2048 and the City of Elmhurst.
“Memorial Day will always be a day of remembrance in Elmhurst—to honor then men and women of our nation’s armed forces, both past and present,” said John Quigley, President of the Elmhurst Chamber and Co-Chair (along with Ralph Pechanio) of the Elmhurst Memorial Day Parade Committee.
“Memorial Day reminds us that the freedoms we so often take for granted were purchased through the sacrifices of brave men and women throughout America’s history,” Quigley added.
ALL ABOUT THE PARADE
More than 80 entries will march in Elmhurst’s Memorial Day Parade, with World War II veteran William “Bill” Ralston, a former U.S. Navy Aircrewman who fought the Japanese in the Pacific Theater, serving as the Grand Marshal.
Pechanio, Quigley and their fellow members of the Kiwanis Club of Elmhurst will again serve as Parade Marshals, and also will march carrying their giant U.S. flag.
“Our parade is a tribute to all those men and women who have so bravely put their lives on the line to defend individual freedoms here in the greatest nations and around the world,” said Quigley. “In light of America’s war with Iraq, this year’s parade will hold greater significance in remembering those who make daily sacrifices on our behalf.”
For the second year in a row, members of the Lima Lima Flight Team will perform formation aerobatics in their U.S. Navy Beech T-34s. Based out of the Naper Aero Club, Lima Lima has been in operation since 1956 and the team is in its 13th year of performing.
This year’s entries include five color guards (led by the Elmhurst Police Department), an honor guard, military officers from the United States Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, members of American Legion Post 187 and VFW Post 2048, costumed Civil War re-enactors, wheelchair veterans, military vehicles and a patrol boat.
The parade also will feature vehicles representing four fire departments (Elmhurst, Oakbrook Terrace, Oak Brook and Northlake), 15 scouting groups, two horse troops and 10 musical entries, along with political leaders at the state and local levels.
A total of 10 cub scout packs, four boy scout troops and one girl scout group will carry commemorative war banners.
Elmhurst Mayor Thomas D. Marcucci and Elmhurst City Council members head a contingent of political leaders that includes State Senator Dan Cronin, State Representatives Lee Daniels and Bob Biggins, and the Addison Township Democrats.
Four of the musical entries hail from Elmhurst, including Elmhurst College’s world-renown Jazz Band. The marching bands from York Community High School (Marching Dukes) and Elmhurst Middle Schools, both representing Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205, also will perform.
Rounding out the parade’s musical groups are the Antioch Brass Quintet, Chicago Highlanders Pipe Band, www.ChicagoPipeBand.com, Doonaree Pipe Band, Kingsmen Drum & Bugle Corps, Royal Blue Dixieland Tinker Toy Band and Van Moody Eagles Community Band.
The parade will step off at 9:30 a.m. from York Road and Third Street, and concludes with a Military Ceremony at the Veterans Memorial in Wilder Park. Starting from Third Street, the parade will head south on York Street to Second Street, veer east along Robert Palmer Drive through the underpass and west back to York Street, south on York Street to Church Street, west on Church Street to Prospect Avenue and north on Prospect Avenue past the Veterans Memorial.
POST-PARADE MEMORIAL
The Post-Parade Military Ceremony at the Elmhurst Veterans Memorial will feature stirring speeches by Elmhurst Mayor Thomas D. Marcucci and others, the laying of wreaths by military personnel and civilians, and a traditional Three-Round Volley.
Patriotic music will be performed by the Antioch Brass Quintet and sibling soloists Sarah and Adam Benkendorf.
The names of Elmhurst area veterans who passed away since Memorial Day 2003 will be read aloud in remembrance, from the lists provided by Ahlgrim Funeral Home, Gibbons Funeral Home and Pedersen-Ryberg Mortuary.
Elmhurst American Legion T.H.B. Post 187 will again place rows of white crosses adjacent to the Veterans Memorial with the names of Elmhurst residents killed during World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War. Flowers may be placed next to the crosses. For further information, contact Bill Ralston at (630) 279-5588.
The Veterans Memorial was dedicated in 1993 through the efforts of VFW Post 2048, American Legion Post 187 and Ralph Pechanio, 1992 President (now Chairman) of the Chamber’s Board of Directors. Their fund-raising campaign generated more than $100,000 to build the memorial.
Applications to have a deceased veteran honored at the Veterans Memorial are available at Elmhurst City Hall, 209 North York Street, or by calling (630) 530-3010.