The Memorial Day Parade kicks off at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 25. Port Washington has a wonderful tradition of remembering all who have served and are serving. The parade honors the nation’s military, merchant marine and first responders. The multitude of marchers will include community groups, girl scouts, boy scouts, veterans and the fire and police departments, among others. This year’s Parade Grand Marshals are Ray Slavinsky and Rollin Bruce Darling.
Ray Slavinsky is the American Legion Post 509 Grand Marshal. He was born and raised in Port Washington, where he attended local schools and graduated from Schreiber High School in 1965. He joined the Navy in 1966 and while in boot camp, volunteered for the Seabees. He was sent to Port Hueneme, California for further training and school. After school, he spent a year at the Bainbridge, Maryland naval base before being sent to a naval support facility on the island of Eleuthera in the Caribbean. There he spent eighteen months before transfer to Mobile Construction Battalion 7 home port at Davisville, Rhode Island. This was his final assignment until his honorable discharge in 1969. While on active duty, he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal.
Slavinsky has been a member of the American Legion for 25 years. During his many years as a member, he has marched in all the parades and was often in the color guard carrying a flag. In addition, he has participated in all Post 509 ceremonies. He was Sargeant at Arms of the Post for many years and was recently named Vice Commander. A recent widower after his wife’s passing in March 2014, he has a son, David, living in Brooklyn and a daughter, Jodie, living in Alameda, California.
Rollin Bruce Darling is the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1819 Grand Marshal for 2015. He was born in Detroit, Michigan and attended and graduated elementary and high school in Redford township. Following his graduation, he attended junior college in Detroit and worked in the auto industry.
In 1961, he moved to Flushing, Queens with his father to help support his family. The remaining family in Detroit joined them in Flushing later that year. He was able to resume college, taking night school classes at Queens College. At this time, Darling joined a partnership with his father in a successful home improvement business. In 1964, he completed a
certificate program after taking courses in Architectural Drafting and Design at Manhattan Institute of Technology. In November 1966, Darling was drafted into the U.S. Army. He did his basic training at Fort Gordon, Georgia and then AIT training at Fort McClellan, Alabama. After electing to attend Officer Training School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant and assigned to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. There he trained troops in engineering studies prior to deployment to Vietnam. Bruce received orders for Vietnam deployment in October 1968. He spent one year in the Americal Division, 26th Engineers. He served first as a platoon officer and was later promoted to 1st Lieutenant and Company XO taking over as C.O. in early 1969. First Lieutenant Darling acted as hill commander until rotation and honorable discharge from the army in November 1969. While in service, he received the following awards: Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.
After service, he returned to the home improvement business partnership, living in Flushing, New York. In 1973, Darling married his wife MaryAnn and raised three daughters. They moved to Port Washington in 1991. After retiring in 2010, he joined the VFW in 2011. He currently serves as a Trustee and operates the canteen at the Henderson-Marino Post 1819 in Manorhaven.
