Elmhurst Memorial Day Parade is May 31

More than 80 entries will march in Elmhurst’s 92nd Annual Memorial Day Parade, led by Grand Marshal John G. Messerschmidt, Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy and a native of Elmhurst.

            The 2010 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.

Members of the Kiwanis Club of Elmhurst will again serve as Parade Marshals, and also will march carrying their giant U.S. flag.

Fellow Kiwanians Ralph P. Pechanio, Chairman of the Elmhurst Veterans Memorial Commission, and John R. Quigley, President & CEO of the Elmhurst Chamber, are the Parade Co-Chairs.

“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. “Having an Elmhurst native return home to serve as our parade’s Grand Marshal makes it all the more special.”

This year’s entries include five color guards, retired 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 and
military vehicles. For the first time, the lead color guard will feature members of the Elmhurst Police and Fire Departments, American Legion and VFW.

The parade also will feature vehicles representing three fire departments (Elmhurst, Oakbrook Terrace and Oak Brook), 14 scouting groups and 12 musical/dance entries, along with political leaders at the state and local levels.

A total of 10 cub scout packs, three boy scout troops and one combined group of girls scouts will carry commemorative war banners.

Elmhurst Mayor Peter “Pete” DiCianni and Elmhurst City Council members head a contingent of political leaders that includes U.S. Representative Peter Roskam and State Senator Dan Cronin, both Republicans, along with the Addison Township Democratic Organization.

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, and Timothy Christian High School also will perform.

Rounding out the parade’s musical/dance groups are the Antioch Brass Quintet, Boliviamanta Dance Ensemble, Carver Military Academy Drill Team and Drum Corps, Chicago Highlanders Pipes and Drums, Chicago Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Music Performing Arts Drumline, Patton Academy (Farragut High School) JROTC Drill and Drums Team, and Paul Hall Warriors Drum and Bugle Corps.

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.

 

The Military Ceremonyat the Elmhurst Veterans Memorial will feature stirring speeches by Elmhurst Mayor Peter “Pete” DiCianni 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 soloist Anne Lucas.

The names of Elmhurst area veterans who passed away since Veterans Day 2009 will be read aloud in remembrance, from the lists provided by Ahlgrim Funeral Home, Gibbons Funeral Home and Pedersen-Ryberg Mortuary.

American Legion Post 187 has placed 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 the Persian Gulf War, and Afghanistan and Iraq. 

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.