100 entrants in Memorial Day parade, which will follow new
route
Gilroy – Seventy-seven Gilroyans have died in combat since World War I, and each of their names will be read aloud during a solemn Monday morning ceremony, before hundreds of cheering residents gather along 10th Street for the Memorial Day Parade.
Al Schmidt, commander of American Legion Post 217, spent four years in the Navy training military personnel for combat in Korea. His son has served one tour in Iraq and will return for another in October.
“We should try to remember all our veterans,” Schmidt said. “We’ve been losing them four or five a month. We really do appreciate all the service they have given in the past, the service they are giving now, and the service they will give in the future.”
But before the 9th annual parade begins, residents and veterans will gather in the St. Mary Parish cemetery off First Street for a remembrance. Mayor Al Pinheiro and other local dignitaries are expected to attend, along with members of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign War Post 6309, both based in Gilroy.
As in past years, veterans will take the place of honor at the head of the parade, with World War II veterans Raymond and Terry Cadei in the lead as grand marshals. The brothers, now both in their 90s, have spent the vast majority of their lives in Gilroy.
The parade will follow a longer path this year, with 100 floats and other entrants passing by the usual endpoint at Gilroy High School and wrapping around Uvas Park Road to the gates of Christmas Hill Park.
Parade chair and City Councilman Craig Gartman expects less confusion and a more orderly flow into the park, where organizers have traditionally capped off the day of remembrance with family events, food and music.
“Overall, it’s going to be a much better parade,” Gartman said. “Someone told me last year that there were people waiting along Uvas Park for the parade and all of a sudden it ended at the high school and they were like, ‘Where’s the parade?'”
He said residents can station themselves atop Uvas levee to view passing floats.
As in past years, helicopters and WWII fighter planes will usher in the parade that will pass down the 10th Street corridor, starting from Monterey Street.
Brian Bowe, the city’s new Garlic Festival director, has attended the event for years with his wife and kids. This time around, Bowe will have a bird’s eye view from a judging booth at 10th and Princevalle streets.
Parade organizers dole out awards to the top three finishers in categories for automobiles, floats and music, among others. Past winners such as the Gilroy High School marching band and the Santa Clara County Thunderbirds will return this year, as will DSR (Dynamic Street Rockers), a local dance troupe that thrilled onlookers last year with back flips, hand spins and other hip hop moves.
“I always like the horses riding down the street and the military vehicles like the Humvees,” Bowe said, adding that, “for me, the day is really about honoring veterans and those who’ve served. We really should put our political differences and opinions aside and if we see someone in uniform on that day, go out of our way to thank our men and women who serve.”
The parade, expected to last from 11am to 12:30pm, will end at the park’s Uvas Park gate. As part of the events that follow, kids can get their faces painted, pick up a balloon animal, climb a rock wall or jump around in three “bounce houses.” Classic Corvettes and Thunderbirds will be on display at the park, as well as choppers that performed fly-overs during the parade. And bands will play classic hits throughout the afternoon at the gazebo and amphitheater.
Before the park events begin, city officials and veterans will dedicate a set of new flagpoles at the ranch site across the street to honor the six military branches – Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Merchant Marines and Navy.
Of the Gilroyans who have fallen in battle, the most recent was Marine Lance Cpl. Jeramy Ailes, a 22-year-old who died November 2004 in Iraq.
“People seem to forget about these people who were veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam and now Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Wayne Cegelske, chaplain of the VFW. “The American people seem to forget so quickly what Memorial Day is for – the people who sacrificed their lives.”
