The Veterans of Coventry Need You!

Hey folks!

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day!  Grillin' some steaks from the new Dave's or maybe you stopped at Gellina's for a cherry dipped.  

If your family is anything like mine we would all spend the afternoon together at my parent's house relaxing with friends and family.  Dad would get up at his usually ungodly hour, light up the smoker and fill it with chicken, ribs, and just about any kind of sausage you could want.  By the time the rest of us got up we were running out the door to our favorite family event of the year!  The Coventry Memorial Day Parade!

The Coventry Memorial Day Parade was organized by the West Bay Chapter of Korean War Veterans and some how the responsibility of organizing seemed to fall on my Grandfather Frank so you can bet his "lout" grandsons and their "lout" friends had to be there to help out.  We always had a blast seeing everyone doing last second repairs to the floats and making sure the order was just right (I love my grandfather but he would always let one of us deal with the angry troop leader who wasn't lined up right).  Anyway we would line everyone up, The Police, the Mr Smith and the High School Band, and of course the local Fire Departments, then we'd send them on their way!  Sometimes we'd get golf carts and get to drive the route, sometimes we'd walk and sometimes we'd head down the back streets and over to watch from the Jerry's parking lot across from Bim's Place.

The parade was lead by the Veterans and they would stop to lay wreaths at the memorial parks along the route and drop the last one off of the bridge as they turned from 117 on to South Main.  When they got to the VFW Post any of the participants would get a hot dog and a soda from "the old ladies" (Grampa's words, although the were both of those things).  It was always a great way to celebrate the friends we'd lost with the friends we had.   

Our last Memorial Day Parade happened in 2009.  As 2010 approached my grandfather decided he would pass on the responsibility to another vet and the ball was dropped. 

2011 came and went without a parade, let's not do the same in 2012!  I am looking for a few good men and women who have a deep respect for our veterans and want to pick up the tradition of honoring them!  You don't have to be a vet or even know one, you just need to be able to help!  

We've got less than a year!  Please think about it and as always, The Goal is Soul!