Led by Grand Marshal Russell F. Caforio, a United States Army combat veteran of the Vietnam War and long-time resident of Elmhurst, nearly 70 entries will march in Elmhurst’s 105th Annual Memorial Day Parade through downtown Elmhurst on Monday, May 29, stepping off at York and Third streets at 9:30 a.m.
The 2023 Parade is presented by the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Elmhurst American Legion THB Post 187, City of Elmhurst and Elmhurst Park District.
Members of the Kiwanis Club of Elmhurst will again serve as Parade Marshals—assisted by Veterans of Elmhurst University—and also will march carrying their giant U.S. flag.
Ralph P. Pechanio, Chairman of the Elmhurst Veterans Commission and a long-time member of the Kiwanis Club of Elmhurst, and John R. Quigley, Elmhurst Chamber President and CEO, are the Parade Co-Chairs, since 1997 and 2000, respectively.
“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 this greatest of nations and around the world,” said Quigley.
Members of the Elmhurst Chamber—including representatives of the Board of Directors and Chamber Ambassadors—will carry the Presentation Banner.
This year’s entries include four color guards, retired military officers from the United States Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Space Force and Coast Guard, members of American Legion THB Post 187 and other veterans, costumed Civil War re-enactors and military vehicles.
The lead color guard will feature members of the Elmhurst Police and Fire Departments.
The parade also will feature vehicles representing three fire departments (Elmhurst, Oak Brook and York Center), 12 scouting groups and nine musical entries, along with elected leaders at the state and municipal levels.
A total of six cub scout packs, five boy scout troops and one combined girl scout unit will carry commemorative war banners.
Elmhurst Mayor Scott Levin and members of the Elmhurst City Council will head a contingent of elected leaders that includes Illinois State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-23rd District) and Illinois State Representative Jenn Ladisch Douglas (R-45th District).
Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 will be represented by the York Community High School Marching Dukes band.
Parade musical groups are the Antioch Brass Quintet, Celebration Brass, Chicago Highlanders Pipes and Drums, Chorus of DuPage, First United Methodist Church Bell Choir, Illinois Army National Guard’s 144th Army Band, Merry Marchers Band and West Towns Chorus.
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 in Wilder Park will feature inspirational speeches by Elmhurst Mayor Scott Levin 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 bagpiper Brian Costello of the Shannon Rovers, and sung by the Chorus of DuPage and soloist Paige Brook.
The names of Elmhurst area veterans who passed away since Veterans Day 2022 will be read aloud in remembrance, from the lists provided by Elmhurst Funeral Home-The Ahlgrim Chapel, Gibbons Funeral Home and Pedersen-Ryberg Mortuary.
American Legion THB Post 187, with assistance from Elmhurst University student military veterans, has placed four rows of white crosses adjacent to the Veterans Memorial with the names of deceased Elmhurst residents who served during World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam, Persian Gulf War, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
As has become a tradition, an Always Remember sign commemorating the names of the deceased Memorial Day Parade Grand Marshals has been erected adjacent to the crosses. The sign was manufactured by Vital Signs USA, with a donation by Don Meyers.
The Veterans Memorial was dedicated in 1993 through the efforts of former 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. Donations to the Veterans Memorial Fund are appreciated.