Led by Grand Marshal Lori Tompos, a Desert Storm and Gulf War combat veteran as a Captain in the United States Army and resident of Elmhurst, some 90 entries will march in Elmhurst’s 101st Annual Memorial Day Parade through downtown Elmhurst on Monday, May 27, stepping off at 9:30 a.m. Capt. Tompos is the first female to serve as the Parade’s Grand Marshal.
The 2019 Parade is presented by the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Elmhurst American Legion THB Post 187, the City of Elmhurst and Elmhurst Park District.
American Legion THB Post 187 is also celebrating its Centennial in 2019 (see story and photos elsewhere in this issue).
Members of the Kiwanis Club of Elmhurst will again serve as Parade Marshals, assisted by Veterans from Elmhurst College, and also will march carrying their giant U.S. flag.
Ralph P. Pechanio, Chairman of the Elmhurst Veterans Memorial Commission and a long-time member of the Kiwanis Club of Elmhurst, and John R. Quigley, president and CEO of the Elmhurst Chamber, are the Parade Co-Chairs, since 1997 and 2000, respectively.
Members of the Elmhurst Chamber will carry the presentation banner.
This year’s entries include five color guards, retired military officers from the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, members of American Legion THB Post 187 and veterans, costumed Civil War re-enactors and military vehicles. The lead color guard will feature members of the Elmhurst Police and Fire Departments.
The parade also will feature vehicles representing six fire departments (Elmhurst, Northlake, Oakbrook Terrace, Oak Brook, Villa Park and York Center District), 14 scouting groups, and 10 musical entries, along with elected leaders at the federal, state and municipal levels.
The parade will step off at 9:30 a.m. from York Road and Third Street, and concludes with a Military Ceremony at the Veterans Memorial in Wilder Park. Starting from Third Street, the parade will head south on York Street to Second Street, veer east along Robert Palmer Drive through the underpass and west back to York Street, south on York Street to Church Street, west on Church Street to Prospect Avenue and north on Prospect Avenue past the Veterans Memorial.
Post-Parade Memorial
The 27th Annual Post-Parade Military Ceremony at the Elmhurst Veterans Memorial will feature inspirational speeches by Elmhurst Mayor Steve Morley and others, the laying of wreaths by military personnel and civilians, and a traditional Three-Round Volley.
Patriotic music will be performed by the Antioch Brass Quintet and bagpiper Brian Costello of the Shannon Rovers, and sung by the Chorus of DuPage and Men of Spirito!
The names of Elmhurst area veterans who passed away since Veterans Day 2018 will be read aloud in remembrance, from the lists provided by Ahlgrim Funeral Home, Gibbons Funeral Home and Pedersen-Ryberg Mortuary.
American Legion THB Post 187, with assistance from Elmhurst College’s Lamda Chi Alpha fraternity members, has placed four rows of 65 white crosses adjacent to the Veterans Memorial with the names of deceased Elmhurst veterans who served during World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam, Persian Gulf War, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
For the ninth year in row, an Always Remember sign commemorating the names of the deceased Memorial Day Parade Grand Marshals has been erected adjacent to the crosses. The sign was manufactured by Vital Signs USA, with a donation by Don Meyers.
