Town Traditions: Few Can Match The Doylestown Memorial Day Parade

DOYLESTOWN BOROUGH, PA — When it comes to town traditions, none can match the longevity or the importance of the Doylestown Memorial Day Parade.

Reaching back over a century and a half, the first parade was held in 1868, the year “Decoration Day,” later called Memorial Day, was first observed in the United States and just 30 years after the Doylestown’s incorporation as a borough.

It is one of the oldest Memorial Day Parades in the nation, according to the Borough of Doylestown, which today organizes the patriotic march through town in honor of those American Veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of the nation and its democratic ideals.

It’s amazing when you think about it. The first parade in town, which consisted of a group of citizens parading from the monument to the cemetery to decorate the graves of the nation’s fallen veterans, took place when Andrew Johnson was President of the United States and horses were the main source of transportation.

“We’re talking 1868,” said Borough Manager John Davis. “These people were literally going to the cemetery where these (Civil War) soldiers have been buried for five or six years and in some cases may have been interred more recently so those first couple of years you were literally walking with widows and orphans to the cemetery.”

Through the years, that small observance has grown into today’s Memorial Day Parade involving 1,700 participants, more than 100 separate units, eight school bands, and an estimated 15,000 spectators who watch the parade from windows, front yards, sidewalks and curbs.

“It’s hard to think of an organization in town that doesn’t participate,” said Davis. “And the town really rallies around it. People have a lot of cool traditions like porch and yard parties that they hold. And they’ve been doing that for years.”

This year will mark the 155th anniversary of the parade, which has only missed two years in its long existence, including one due to COVID.

U.S. Navy Veteran Chris Suessenguth, who served from 1977 to 1984, has been working with the parade since 2010. He became parade marshal around 2016, a position he continues to hold today.

“The reason why we do this is to remember the veterans who have passed away defending our country,” said Suessenguth. “We’re honoring people who died who gave us our freedom. I try to relate that to people who are at the parade because that’s important.”

The parade itself is well attended, adds Suessenguth, noting that it’s usually two to three rows deep with people “as you go through the whole parade route. People are waving and cheering. You see friends and neighbors. And everyone is there to remember the veterans and the sacrifices they made. It’s a great Doylestown tradition.”

After a flag raising on Monday, May 29, the parade steps off at 10 a.m. at Central Bucks West High School, marching east on West Court Street, then east on West State Street, north on Main Street, and finally east on East Court Street to the Doylestown Cemetery, where it culminates with a 30-minute memorial service, during which the United Veterans of Doylestown place wreaths to honor the community’s fallen heroes.

The Borough of Doylestown took over the organization of the parade a few years ago to ensure the tradition would continue. Today, the borough works hand-in-hand with the United Veterans of Doylestown to keep the tradition alive.

“The template was set by the veterans and it has made it very simple to manage,” said Davis. “The process has remained the same. At a certain time over the winter we send out notices to the units from the previous year and over a period of time they submit their requests. We generally finish up a week before the parade where all the attendees are required to attend a meeting and we go over the rules and regulations.”

On Memorial Day itself, the organizers and volunteers are up before sunrise to direct participants to the proper staging areas and to handle the logistics of the march.

“Our biggest issue right now is finding veterans,” said Davis. “We’re putting out calls to try to find veterans to walk or ride in the parade.

“It’s great that the community gets to see all the school bands. It’s a great day for all the service organizations and youth organizations to showcase themselves in a very different way,” said Davis. “But at the end of the day it’s about the veterans. The demeanor of the parade, the way they carry themselves, the music they play. Everything revolves around respect for the veteran. This is a solemn occasion at its heart and everybody respects that,” he said.

“We do this because we owe them,” added Davis, of those veterans who gave their lives on the battlefields of history. “The veterans will tell you on Memorial Day, ‘We’re not here to be honored. We’re honoring those of us who paid the ultimate price.’ They are there in a place of honor, but they are also honoring those who can’t be there and they keep us focused. Having those guys involved in the planning, there’s no chance we’re forgetting what this is all about. We do this because we owe them,” he said. “It’s not just a day off and a fun tradition.”

Suessenguth adds, “A lot of times people will come up to me and say thank you for your service, especially on Memorial Day. I say to them, ‘If you really want to thank someone on Memorial Day, thank a Gold Star family member. Veterans are recognized every day, but for Gold Star families who lost a family member, that’s where the honor should go on Memorial Day.”

If your organization is interested in participating in the parade, you will find an Entry Registration Form and Parade Rules and Guidelines here: 2023 Memorial Day Parade Packet. Veterans interested in joining parade should contact borough hall. Volunteers are also needed to help on Memorial Day. They are also asked to contact borough hall to volunteer.