By Rich Bockmann
Year after year, the communities of Little Neck and Douglaston simultaneously pay respect to those who have died serving in the country’s armed forces while at the same time ushering in the summer season with all the appropriate celebration and festivity.
The grand marshal of this year’s Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade is Maj. Gen. William D. Waff, commanding general in the U.S. Army Reserve, 99 RSC at Fort Dix.
“We’re looking forward to the largest Memorial Day parade in the country,” said Robert Bishop, a member of the parade’s board of directors. “Really, to us it’s a mission to commend those who make the ultimate sacrifice to keep our country safe.”
The parade will begin at 2 p.m. May 30 at Jayson Avenue and Northern Boulevard and run down the boulevard to St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church in Little Neck.
“In the past we’ve had between 5,000 and 10,000 people marching and the sidewalks are lined for the whole route of the parade,” Bishop said.
The day’s events will begin at 10 a.m. with the interfaith service at St. Anastasia, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Veterans Monument and flagpole at Alameda Avenue and Northern Boulevard.
Bishop said he expects the costs for this year’s parade to reach approximately $25,000, and he invited those interested in donating to attend upcoming fund-raisers at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at 300 Steamboat Road in Kings Point, L.I., May 29 at 1 p.m. and at the Il Bacco restaurant at 253-24 Northern Blvd. in Little Neck May 25 at 6:30 p.m.
The parade also has a new website this year: lndmemorialdayparade.com.
Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.
