A hometown war hero and a sports champion are among the hundreds
of Gilroyans who will march down city streets Monday in honor of
those who never returned from war.
Gilroy – A hometown war hero and a sports champion are among the hundreds of Gilroyans who will march down city streets Monday in honor of those who never returned from war.
Pete Garcia, a 79-year-old who fought in World War II and Korea, will lead the 10th annual Memorial Day parade as grand marshal. Garcia is not only a veteran but a beloved member of the community who has served as a campus security guard at local schools for more than 30 years. Countless past and present students have said they will honor Garcia by lining the parade path along 10th Street.
“I love my city of Gilroy and I think it’s wonderful for them to be thinking about celebrating that day,” said Garcia, who lost a brother in the Korean War. “Other cities … Why don’t they celebrate it? They don’t have vision like Gilroy.”
The Memorial Day parade, held the last Monday each May, has become a major event in Gilroy in recent years. The event dates back to commemorations of those who died fighting in the Civil War, though it was not celebrated uniformly across the country until after World War I.
In Gilroy, hundreds of people line 10th Street each year to watch local Boy Scouts, dance troupes, military veterans and dozens of other floats pass by. This year the parade is expected to have nearly 90 floats, including a procession of champion wrestlers and soccer players from Gilroy High School. The group of student athletes will be led by another local sports hero, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, holder of two featherweight boxing championships.
A World War II-era fighter plane will signal the 11am start of the parade by flying over 10th Street, followed by helicopters from the Sheriff’s department and a CALSTAR helicopter. More than 80 floats will then make their way from the corner of 10th and Monterey streets to Christmas Hill Park. Attendees are encouraged to arrive by 10am at the 10th Street parade route. Parking is available at the corner where 10th Street turns into Uvas Park Drive.
The procession will include more than 90 youth violinists from Antonio Del Buono Elementary School and South Valley Suzuki String Academy. The musicians range from kindergartners to seniors in high school.
“They really enjoy it,” said Lori Franke, director of the music academy. “I think it’s partly the patriotic feel, but it’s also performing with all the kids and being together and the fun of being in a parade.”
The parade has traditionally started in the Caltrain parking lot on Monterey Street and finished by Gilroy High School, but last year organizers decided to extend the parade route to the gates of Christmas Hill Park.
Following the ceremony, the helicopters will touch down at the Ranch Site facing Christmas Hill Park, and classic Corvettes will be on display for auto enthusiasts. Kids can stay entertained with a rock climbing wall, face painting, balloon artists, and other activities. Adults can check out the Corvairs, a popular ’60s-music cover-band that will perform from 1 to 4pm at the park gazebo.
Before the pomp and circumstance of the parade, residents and public officials will gather in St. Mary Parish Cemetery on First Street to mourn the Gilroyans who never returned from war. Seventy-seven Gilroy service members have lost their lives in combat since World War I. The most recent was Marine Lance Cpl. Jeramy Ailes, a Gilroy High School graduate who was killed in November 2004 in Iraq.
“There’s been over a million Americans killed in action in various wars, and I believe they deserve to be remembered,” said Bob Dillon, a former city councilman who did two tours in Vietnam. “I turned 60 in April and I was lucky. I came home alive when I was 21. I had the benefit of having children and grandchildren, buying a house, doing all the things that they did not have chance to do.”
