By Jennifer Warren
Whitestone’s Memorial Day Parade, the solemn marker of the unofficial start of summer, served not only as a day of remembrance but as a political scale of sorts balancing farewells for outgoing officials against the introduction of those who seek to replace them.
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the guest of honor, walked the Whitestone parade route to upturned thumbs, a few abrupt kisses on the cheek and supportive shouts of “We’re gonna miss you, Rudy.” Meanwhile, marching in step by his side was Michael Bloomberg, the Republicans’ likely choice for mayor.
Asked why Bloomberg visited Whitestone for the Memorial Day celebration, the self-made billionaire said Queens was the genuine article.
“You think about it. This is the real America. The difference between here and Manhattan — people here fly flags in their windows. Where do you see that in Manhattan? — you don’t.”
An estimated 300 participants — Army soldiers, war veterans, Girl Scouts, bagpipers, baseball teams and many others — marched in Monday’s hourlong parade, which began at the Veterans’ Memorial on 149th Street and looped through 12th Avenue, 150th Street, 18th Avenue and concluded back at the memorial.
The service at the start of the parade included a double rifle salute and the raising of a half-staff American flag to a recording of Taps. Borough President Claire Shulman, a resident of Whitestone, addressed several hundred of her neighbors who had gathered on the memorial grounds beneath looming storm clouds.
“We must never forget the millions of men and women who fought to guarantee that the American dream would survive,” Shulman said. “It’s hard for us to imagine a world where the notion of liberty and freedom did not exist. This profound and unprecedented right was earned in great part through armed struggle.”
Shulman said this was the day to remember those who fought in all the nation’s wars — in Gettysburg, Normandy, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf.
“My brother and cousin were in Vietnam,” she said, acknowledging the corps of Vietnam veterans marching in the parade. “Those guys are very dear to me.”
State Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose), dressed in his full Army regalia, gazed out at students from PS 32, PS 192, and members of Brownie and Girl Scout troops and said he was encouraged to see so many children at the parade.
He emphasized the importance of making young people aware of the nation’s military history so “they will know they live in a world of peace, that they know that this was because of the sacrifices of so many for an extended period of time … so they will not take Memorial Day for granted but to have a full understanding of its meaning.”
Padavan, a full colonel before he was elected to office, joined the Army after the Korean War, he said. Beginning in the 1950s, Padavan served 30 years on active duty including tenure with the Army Corps of Engineers, assignments in Germany during the 1970s, and rounding out his career at Fort Totten as chief of staff.
Complimented on his uniform by both the mayor as “handsome and elegant” and a passing constituent, Padavan confessed, “I’m just glad it still fits.”
Bill Barry, a World War II veteran dressed in his Army greens, also attended the ceremony. Barry had served in Guam on the destroyer Escort as an S.K.2.C. — store keeper, second class — and spent the morning speaking with fellow World War II veteran Fred Rudin.
Rudin fought during the 1944 Anzio Beachhead invasion in Italy, a four-month-long combat maneuver in which the German army tried to force the GIs off the Italian coast, he said.
After months of back-and-forth combat, U.S. Navy artillery arrived “to hold the line,” breaking the cycle and allowing Rudin and the others in his contingent to finally enter Rome, he said.
“You know the most important thing,” said Barry, finishing his friend’s story, “is that we’re here to talk about it. We’re not in a hospital and we’re not in a nursing home. We can see and we can hear and we can talk. That’s what is important.”
Reach reporter Jennifer Warren by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 155.
