'Back from Iraq' Honors Veterans

Spectators of the annual 4th of July parade in Racine will have a little more to cheer about this year. Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant are sponsoring an entry in the parade to honor veterans who have served in Iraq.

"Back from Iraq" is a joint effort of the two villages. Originally conceived as a separate parade for August or September, committee members decided it would be better to sponsor an entry in the annual Downtown Racine parade instead.

"It's a lot of work to organize a parade," said South Shore Fire Chief Bill Bouma, the lead idea-man for the project. "And it just makes more sense to use a parade that everyone already loves to help honor our fighting men and women and their families."

Other members of the committee are:

• Linda Busha (Sturtevant Village Board Member)
• Carolyn Milikie (Mount Pleasant Village President)
• Logan Martin (Mount Pleasant Community Development Director)
• Chief Sean Marschke (Sturtevant Police Department)
• Captain Brian Smith (Mount Pleasant Police Department)
• Heather Asiyanbi (Patch Editor)

Here is more from a press release put together by Bouma:

We invite all vets to help us honor our fallen and those who have returned from Iraq and other wars.  We highlight Iraq veterans this year and probably Afghanistan veterans next year. 

We are being helped by Brigadier General Dominic A. Cariello, Assistant Adjutant General – Army, Wisconsin National Guard and also by Daniel Pierce who served two tours in Iraq. He is the son of Division Chief Mark Pierce of South Shore Fire Department.

Next year, Bouma hopes to honor those already home and returning from Afghanistan.