GILROY
– The wheels are in motion for this year’s Memorial Day
Parade.
The May 31 parade has been an annual city tradition since 1998
and provides an opportunity to reflect on the somber costs of war
as well as to partake in community festivities.
GILROY – The wheels are in motion for this year’s Memorial Day Parade.
The May 31 parade has been an annual city tradition since 1998 and provides an opportunity to reflect on the somber costs of war as well as to partake in community festivities.
“It’s important to memorialize those who have gone before us and to show our support for those currently serving,” said City Councilman Bob Dillon, a Vietnam war veteran and parade committee co-chairman, referring to troops stationed in Iraq.
There are no official head counts, but Councilman and parade Chairman Craig Gartman estimates last year’s attendees numbered between 8,000 and 10,000. With the conflict in Iraq still in the backgound, he anticipates this year’s turnout will be similar. Last year, they received 120 parade entries and already have received about 20 for this year. Deadline for entries is May 1, although late entries are generally accommodated.
“No matter how you feel about the war in Iraq, everyone supports our troops,” said Dillon.
Like previous years, the parade will take place along 10th Street beginning at 11 a.m. Parade fans can look forward to staples such as custom cars, antique tractors and horses. Several P-51 Mustang fighter planes that were used for strategic bombing during World War II will open the parade. Parade-goers who missed the CALSTAR helicopter last year, because it had a cracked windshield, can look forward to its appearance this year.
The parade will again be preceded by a remembrance ceremony at St. Mary’s cemetery at 9:30 a.m. Post-parade festivities will be held at Christmas Hill Park at 4 p.m. where food, beverages, games and music will be available.
While much of the parade will be the same as in previous years, this year’s theme stands out from previous ones. It has been designated “The Year of the Woman.” In the past, the emphasis has been on World War II veterans “because they tend to be older and are leaving us at a high rate,” said Dillon.
However, organizers had thought about having a female grand marshal to recognize the often underrated contributions women make to the war effort. Dillon’s own experiences during the Vietnam War underlined their importance. He spent time stationed at a hospital in Vietnam and said that “many of my mentors and teachers were women.”
When he came across South Valley Middle School teacher Jenny Belcher’s biography (she was receiving a teaching award) he thought to himself, “This is our grand marshal.”
She was an easy choice, agreed Gartman. Belcher served in the U.S. Navy for three years at a time when women participating in the military was very unusual. Her father, brother, husband, daughter and daughter-in-law also served or currently serve in the military.
It won’t be the first time Belcher is publicly honored. In November of last year, she was named 2003 Educator of the Year by the Gilroy Economic Development Corporation and received a check for $1,000.
“I’ve been practicing my wave,” she joked.
For more information, call Craig Gartman at 710-6090 or Bob Dillon at 842-6702, or via e-mail at [email protected]. Entry submissions can be made online at www.gilroyparade.com.
