“Land of the Free. Home of the Brave” – The 88th Annual Memorial Day Parade
On Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, 2015 at 10:00am the Metuchen Area Chamber of Commerce honored the country’s military with its 88th Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony. This Metuchen tradition is one of the area’s longest established Memorial Day parades.
The parade began at the Pearl Street parking lot, proceeded down New Street to Main Street, then south on Main Street to Brunswick Ave. and concluding at the Edgar School. A ceremony was held inside the Edgar Middle School gymnasium at the conclusion of the parade. The ceremony began at 11:30 a.m and featured a 20 minute concert with The Spook Handy the Musical Trio.
Military veteran and Metuchen Fire Chief Rob Donnan will serve as the parade’s grand marshal. Donnan served as a combat medic in the U.S. Army from 1985 to 1988.
While celebrating those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and those currently in harm’s way, the Chamber also honored and showed its appreciation for those in our area who served, are currently serving or just beginning their service: our Grand Marshall and Metuchen Fire Chief Robert B. Donnan, Class of 2105 Entering the Military: Arthur Flaherty, Jeff Lin, John David Rizzuto, Anton Nelson and Heidy Shu.
The event is funded entirely through private donations. The Metuchen Area Chamber of Commerce thanked its principal sponsor, Metuchen Savings Bank; platinum sponsor, Applied Research Corp.; and gold sponsor, Victorian Office Rentals. The silver sponsors are Costello Runyon Funeral Home; the YMCA of Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge and South Amboy; Berkshire Hathaway Home Services of N.J.; and Costello Runyon Funeral Home. D&S Landscaping, N.J. Convention & Expo Center and Metuchen Assembly of God are bronze sponsors.
