East Greenwich Memorial Day Parade Steps Off Monday Morning

The annual Memorial Day Parade in East Greenwich will step off at 10 a.m. at Academy Field, and this year, the start of the parade will be extra awe-inspiring.

The Leap Frogs — a team of elite parachute jumpers in the U.S. Navy Parachute Team — will be jumping onto Academy Field to kick off the parade.

The United States Navy has chosen Rhode Island as one of 12 states in which 2015 Navy Week will be celebrated, which brings The Leap Frogs to town and offers East Greenwich a spectacular start to this year’s parade.

The “Lone Piper” leading the parade will feature an array of Honor Guards along with the local milita, the Kentish Guards and Varnum Continentals.

The Nightlife Marching Band will return along with the town’s own East Greenwich High School Band. There will be Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Miss Rhode Island America 2015, Cindy Burke; classic and antique cars will jam Main Street and First Avenue; The Blue Knights Law Enforcement motor group and local fire companies will display their apparatus along with the Pink Heals truck.

The Parade Committee is inviting families and friends of deceased veterans to join a contingent of marchers who will walk behind a banner asking people to remember those who served and have passed on.

They will be carrying pictures of the veteran along with a special sign.

“Our deceased veterans served our country honorably and though they are gone, they are not forgotten and will always be remembered in the hearts and minds of their family and friends,” a town press release stated.

Marchers should assemble at Academy Field by 9:30am and fall in at the end of Division One. Please contact Jack Kelly for more information or questions at (401) 789-7667 or jfkelly1@cox.net. Jack is a USAF veteran who will be proudly marching in remembrance of his deceased friend, retired Navy Captain Knute Schmidt.

After the start at 10 a.m., from Academy Field, the parade will continue to First Avenue (Rt.401) for a brief wreath-laying ceremony at the World War II Memorial on the corner of Cliff Street. The parade then proceeds North on Main Street to the Town Hall for closing ceremonies to conclude at about 11:00 AM.

Closing ceremonies include a recitation of the Gettysburg Address by a Cole Middle School student as well as comments by LCDR Pete Zubof from the US Naval War College in Newport. This parade, and the other Town parade on Veteran’s Day, is a long time tradition by one of a handful of Rhode Island communities who continue to honor the living and the dead of past conflicts. It is with a great deal of pride that the Town sponsors these parades.

In order to accommodate parade vehicles, a temporary parking ban will be in effect on several of the streets surrounding Academy Field.

There is NO RAIN DATE so in the event of inclement weather, please call the EG Police at (401) 886 8640 by 9am.

For further information, call Carl Hoyer, at (401) 884 6272 or Leigh Botello, at (401) 886 8604.