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| Memorial Day |
The parade begins at 10:30 a.m. and travels Michigan Avenue from Greenfield Road to Schaefer and includes 80 military and community groups, five flyovers, special guests and military vehicles.
The Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council, led by 2011 Commander Craig Tillman, organizes the parade with support from the city of Dearborn.
The parade follows a solemn funeral procession beginning at 9:30 a.m. for three veterans who died without resources or family and whose remains have been left in Dearborn funeral homes.
After the parade, the traditional Remembrance Service will be at noon at the War Memorial on the grounds of City Hall.
Grand marshal is Adrian Cronauer, the military DJ whose life inspired the main character in the 1989 movie, “Good Morning Vietnam!” He will give a keynote address at the Remembrance Ceremony.
New this year will be a free, public exhibit outside of Ford World Headquarters from 1-4 p.m. of a Huey helicopter, Vietnam War memorabilia and vehicles and the Michigan Vietnam Remembrance Wall.
The parade will also pay tribute to the 69 men from Dearborn who died in Vietnam or in military service during that era. Military and community groups will march in honor of the men and carry posters with their photos and names.
The families of many of the Dearborn men who died in Vietnam will march or ride in the parade and will be given a place of honor in the audience. This project has been coordinated by Lisa Lark, a Dearborn teacher, who is compiling the histories of the 69 men.
Special guests of the parade are: Marty Eddy, president of the Prisoner of War Committee of Michigan; Warren K Diegel, Vietnam Veterans of Michigan, State Council president; Nancy Diegel, Vietnam Veterans Associates, State of Michigan president; and Adam Arbogast, spokesperson for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, the organization that founded the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C. and is creating a companion Education Center.
Dearborn’s parade will have four flyovers as well as the Huey: A-10 Warthogs, Coastguard Dolphin, T-6 Texans (flying the missing man formation), and a B25.
The parade and related events are made possible by generous contributors and supporters, including Ford Motor Co.
The non-profit organization American Huey 369 out of Peru, Indiana is supplying the helicopter. The appearance of the Huey is fully paid for by the Foundation for American Veterans.
The appearance of the Michigan Vietnam Remembrance Wall is courtesy of Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 73 from Holland, MI.
Dearborn Federal Savings Bank also is supporting the parade.
