Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) (l.) and City Treasurer Kurt Summers marching in the rain. [Courtesy of Josina Morita]
SMITH PARK — Undeterred by intermittent rain showers and dark clouds, about 200 people came out to honor veterans at a communitywide Memorial Day parade in Ukrainian Village on Monday, a first effort for a local American Legion post.
A five-piece honor guard, a bagpiper and the piece-de-resistance — an open-backed army transport tank invited specifically to showcase Chicago’s veterans in full military uniform — were among the parade's highlights.
At the parade's kickoff point, Saints Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church, 2245 W. Superior St., Louie Rago, owner of Rago Brothers Funeral Homes, helped to get the participants, including cars, dozens of motorcycles, two enormous fire engines and four youth baseball teams, lined up before departing for the one-mile jaunt through the neighborhood.
"We were delighted to see so many neighbors of all ages participate in the parade by marching, riding a scooter or watching from curbside while waving an American flag," said Kim Shepherd, a member of the board of the Smith Park Neighborhood Alliance, which organized the parade along with Smith Park Advisory Council and Byron Watson, American Legion Post 623's vice commander.
Grand marshals included Ald. Joe Moreno (1st), Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) and Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd).
Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) at the parade [Courtesy of Tiger Thomas]
The parade was led by firefighter Cameron McGarity, a seven-year veteran with the Fire Department who maneuvered a large fire truck through the streets.
Following the fire truck were beaming classic cars, a Boy Scout troop, a group of kids on electric scooters and a Blues Brothers-inspired police car with old school flashing lights.
In a ceremony in Smith Park after the parade, Army Spc. Otto Blanco sang "The Star Spangled Banner." When the microphone malfunctioned during the last few verses, the crowd chimed in to help him finish it strong. Watch Blanco sing the anthem.
Watson said there were about 40 members of the Legion Post 623, which was chartered in 1931.
"The reason for the parade was a vision that came to me many years ago when I first moved to Illinois and learned about American Legion through Post 623. David Ramos, president of the Smith Park Advisory Council, really helped bring it to reality. We wanted to bring the community together to show what a partnership with a committed veteran service organization and advisory council partnered with the city of Chicago could do to honor veterans," Watson said in a text message.
During the ceremony, Shepherd said she thought about her friend Terry Barnich, a former Illinois Commerce Commission Chairman killed by a roadside bomb on Memorial Day 2009.
Barnich worked for the U.S. State Department as the Deputy Director of the Iraq Transition Assistance Team.
"While not a soldier in uniform, his was a noble endeavor, as well," Shepherd said.
Timothy Lawson, a resident of Washington, D.C., was visiting friends in Chicago.
A retired Marine, Lawson served three tours overseas and was the recipient of several military awards including a Navy Achievement Medal. He now attends American University and lives only a few blocks from the White House.
"As a U.S. military veteran. I appreciate the time and energy that Chicago residents expend to show their respect for veterans and their service," Lawson said.
Contributing: Tiger Thomas
Veterans at the Ukrainian Village Memorial Day Parade. [Michael Wallace/Facebook]
Motorcyclists at the parade [Courtesy of Tiger Thomas]
Scenes from the Memorial Day parade in Ukrainian Village [Courtesy of Tiger Thomas]
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