ELMHURST REMEMBERS THOSE WHO SERVED
AT 88TH ANNUAL PARADE, VETERANS CEREMONY
ELMHURST, Ill., May 1, 2006 — Nearly 80 entries will march in Elmhurst’s 88th Annual Memorial Day Parade, with Iraqi War veteran Daniel Wallace Foot, a multiple Purple Heart medal-winning U.S. Marines Corps Sergeant twice injured while on patrol duty, serving as the Grand Marshal.
The 2006 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 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. “In light of our Grand Marshal’s service in the war with Iraq, this year’s parade will hold greater significance in remembering those who make daily sacrifices on our behalf.”
For the fourth 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 15th year of performing.
This year’s entries include six 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), 14 scouting groups and 10 musical entries, along with political leaders at the state and local levels.
A total of 10 cub scout packs, three boy scout troops and one group of girl scouts will carry commemorative war banners.
Elmhurst Mayor Thomas D. Marcucci and Elmhurst City Council members head a contingent of political leaders that includes State Senators Dan Cronin and Peter Roskam, State Representative 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, and Timothy Christian High School also will perform.
Rounding out the parade’s musical groups are the Antioch Brass Quintet, Chicago Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Farragut High School ROTC Drill and Drums Teams, Chicago Highlanders Pipe Band, Dixieland Tinker Toy Band and America Forever Patriotic 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 Military Ceremony (see facing page) 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 sung by soloists Sarah and Adam Benkendorf, Lauren Turk and Carl Martin.
The names of Elmhurst area veterans who passed away since Veterans Day 2005 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.
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 theVeterans Memorial are available at Elmhurst City Hall, 209 North York Street, or by calling (630) 530-3010.