By Kathianne Boniello
One spends his days as a colonel at Fort Totten, another is a retired U.S. Naval captain while the other two are World War II veterans who were only doing their duty.
Now four members of the armed services are being honored for their work by the Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade Organization Inc., which selected the men as division marshals for this year’s Memorial Day parade.
The parade features a grand marshal, four division marshals, and several honorees from the community, including the Man and Woman of the Year, Youth of the Year and a Community Service award recipient.
This year’s Community Service Award is going to the community’s uniformed services, including the members of the 111th Police Precinct, city firehouse Engine Co. 313/Ladder Co. 164 in Douglaston and the Manhasset/Lakeville Fire Company just over the cityline in Great Neck, L.I.
The grand marshal for the 2002 parade is Walter Kaye, the top civilian aide to the secretary of the Army, parade spokesman Victor Mimoni said.
Kaye, a retired insurance executive, is known for his hefty contributions to the Democratic National Committee and his charitable endeavors, Mimoni said, including the creation of a scholarship at New York University and serving as an executive board member of the DNC’s women’s leadership forum.
The Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade bills itself as the largest Memorial Day event in the nation, often competing with Chicago for bragging rights. The parade begins Monday, May 27, at 2 p.m. and runs from Jayson Avenue and Northern Boulevard in Great Neck, westbound along Northern Boulevard to the St. Anastasia’s parking lot in Douglaston.
The parade group tapped several community members for this year’s division marshals, though none of the honorees have been assigned specific divisions yet, Mimoni said.
Colonel Ron Linn was chosen as an honoree for the 2002 march, Mimoni said. Linn is a commander in the U.S. Army Reserves Regional Support Command, one of the largest reserves center’s on the east coast.
Capt. Samuel Greenberg of Douglaston will serve as a division marshal this year as well.
Greenberg is a retired U.S. Naval aviator and test pilot, Mimoni said, who now teaches at St. Anastasia’s school in Douglaston and works with the Douglaston Civic Association and School District 26 in Bayside.
Baysider Clyde Smith, a World War II veteran who served in the quartermaster truck company in the Battle of Normandy, was also selected, Mimoni said. Smith served until 1946 and spent 30 years working for the city Transit Authority.
John Costanza of Little Neck was also chosen for the ranks of this year’s division marshals, Mimoni said. Costanza is a World War II vet who served in the Pacific during the Okinawa campaign and also served in Korea. Costanza is a former president of the Westmoreland Civic Association, Mimoni said.
For more information on the parade go to www.littleneck.net.
Reach reporter Kathianne Boniello by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 146.
