Longport veteran Herb Stern waves the flag as he rides with other veterans in Longport's Memorial Day Parade 2018.
The Longport Memorial Day Parade is back. After having to cancel last year's event due to COVID-19, Longport American Legion Post 469 is ready to welcome summer with the Memorial Day tradition of a parade and ceremony starting at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 31.
Memorial Day is the one day each year where Americans honor those who died while fighting to gain and preserve American freedoms.
The lineup will form at 10:45 a.m. in front of the Community Building at 33rd and Atlantic avenues. The half-mile long parade will start at 11 a.m. with units proceeding down 35th Avenue to the main parade route, which will be along Ventnor Avenue, from 35th Avenue to Thomas B. Reed Park at the foot of the Longport Bridge where the Memorial Day ceremony will be held.
Longport Police will provide for public safety thanks to the planning and coordination of Sgt. Jamie Silva. Police Chief Frank Culmone will lead the parade in his vehicle. Members of the Atlantic City Fire Department Sandpipers will follow with their bagpipes and drums.
Longport's 2019 Wounded Warrior Week recipient, U.S. Navy Chief Adam Fleck and his family will be this year's honored guests. Local veterans and members of Post 469 will ride in convertibles, including WWII veterans Herb Stern and Victor Dosch, who are both in their 90s.
Walking with the remaining Legionaires and Women's Auxiliary members will be Mayor Nicholas Russo and Commissioners Jim Leeds and Dan Lawler.
Boy Scout Troop 389 of Egg Harbor Township and cheerleaders from Atlantic Christian School will march in the parade. Younger children along the parade route will be able to interact with three young ladies dressed in princess costumes who will hand out small American flags. Parents with young children are advised to watch the parade from the bayside of Ventnor Avenue to be able to interact with the princesses.
Members of the Longport Beach Patrol, winners of the South Jersey Lifeguard Championships for four consecutive years, will ride aboard one of their lifeboats.
Children and their families will follow on foot dressed in patriotic garb, or riding their decorated bicycles and strollers. Those who would like to participate should join the parade lineup at 10:50 a.m. behind the lifeboat in front of the Community Building.
Longport Fire Department fire trucks will bring up the rear.
Spectators are encouraged to join the ceremony in the park at approximately 11:30 a.m.
